Love and all its many complications
by pinkypunkful
Summary: Rose and Shunsui have been reunited after being separated for a year. However, their happiness and love is put to the test when forces and lies try to pull them away. Will their love for each other be enough, or will they simply break apart. Sequel to 'The Interesting yet Traumatic Life of Rose Bentley. Warning: Lemon, gore and disturbing scenes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The unexpected guests

**Hi Guys, this is the sequel to the story 'The Interesting yet Traumatic Life of Rose Bentley. If you have not read that then I suggest you do as there are some references in here to events that happened in that story. **

**Warning: Lemon **

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><p>The woman sitting at Shunsui Kyoraku's desk in his office lifted one of the many papers that were scattered across the desk in order to read the elegant print on the paper. A courier had just dropped the papers off and the woman felt no harm in reading them now. With a sigh she reclined further back in the desk chair and started to read.<p>

_**Results of the Shin'o Academy entrance exam**_

_Name: Rose Harriet Bentley_

_Result:  PASS_

_All new students will report to the Shinto Academy on Sunday the 14th of September for orientation. Please present yourself at the reception desk at 14:00 PM._

_Rose sighed and put down the sheet of paper. Approximately three weeks ago she had sat the academy entrance exam and by the looks of it had also passed it. Shunsui had been very encouraging in his own way. 'Of course you are going to pass Rose. Yama-jii is only making you sit this exam as a formality. He already knows that your reiatsu level is high enough to enter the academy so please stop worrying.' He had said every time she had started to worry about the exam. And now it seemed that he was right._

_There were still several more letters waiting to be read so Rose straightened up again and picked up the next paper in the small pile._

_**Rules of the Academy**_

_All Students will respect their peers._

_The use Kido, Hakudo and Zanpakuto/Katana in the hallways is prohibited_

_No student is allowed to carry their Katana/ Zanpakuto with them at any time within the academy grounds, unless the student is participating in patrol._

_Only sixth year students are allowed to have a Katana._

_All students must attend their classes. If a student is absent they must present a valid excuse to the reception. If student has three unexplained absences the necessary people will be informed and the student will be punished._

_All students must wear the academy uniform while on Academy grounds. This however, excluded the residential area of the academy._

_Students living outside of the academy_

_All students living outside of the academy must arrive at the academy in time for their first lesson._

_All students living outside the academy must arrive wearing the academy uniform._

_All students living outside of the academy must bring the necessary equipment and supplies with them to the academy and leave them in their personal locker located inside the administrative building._

The rule list went on and on, listing all the rules for student living in the residential area. Most of the rules were self-explanatory but Rose could not help but smile when she saw the rule saying that no student is allowed a personal maid or any other household servant. It was mainly because of these 'ridiculous rules concerning servants' that most of the students from noble families decided to living at home and travel to the academy for the day. It had been very quickly decided between Rose and Shunsui that she would continue to live with him and then travel to the academy for the day. Shunsui had said at the time that he did not like the idea of her being away from him. However, Rose knew the real reason which was that he did not want her anywhere near the 'barbaric, unclean and wild boys who are overflowing with sexual desire and might take advantage of her." She always thought it a bit rich of him to criticize the academy boys since he was always full of sexual desire. But still, it made her smile that he wanted to be selfish with her and keep her to himself.

With another sigh Rose looked out the window behind her. Even by mid-afternoon the sun was still scorching hot and many Shinigami had loosened the collar to their shihakushō ever so slightly in order to catch a little air. Rose considered herself lucky that she had chosen to wear a simple light blue yukata that day. Wearing black on a day like this must be torture. Because the day was so hot all of the windows had been thrown open and, as a consequence of this, Rose was able to hear the sound of the distant advance sword class going on. Curiously she shifted her chair until she was facing the window and stared out of it. In the distance she could see the members of the advanced sword class all in neat rows with their Zanpakuto out and facing their teacher, who happened to be the Taicho of the eighth division. Although Shunsui was very lazy when it came to paperwork he was considerably active in teaching his subordinates. Nanao had signed him up to teach the advanced swords and Hakudo classes and he had only agreed to teach them so long as it did not coincide with his naps. With that being the case the classes were held in the afternoon.

For a moment Rose left a hint of sorrow for the people in the class as it must be difficult training in such heat. By the looks of it Shunsui had removed his pink kimono and haori so he was just left in his black shihakushō. Nothing look more deliciously sexy in Rose's opinion than Shunsui in his black shihakushō. Although she was too far away to see it, she knew that his muscles would be contradicting wonderfully underneath his clothes with every graceful swing of his duo Zanpakuto. Just watching him was turning her on ever so slightly. Rose stared out of the window and started to contemplate her life so far in the Soul Society. A little over a month had passed since Rose return to the Soul Society and everything was going wonderfully. She had gained the respect and in some cases the friendship of most of the members of the eighth and thirteenth division. Nobody whispered behind her back about how inadequate she was to be in a relationship with Shunsui, in fact they now supported her. And in the case of Maya, well, Rose ignored her and vice versa. They would now only acknowledge each other when they had to. At least now Maya knew that her chanced of stealing Shunsui away from Rose was very, very slim. In fact she was more likely to become Soutaicho then end up dating him.

Rose put her head down on the window sill and dozed. Shunsui had kept her up last night with another round of amazing sex. The two of them rarely went 12 hours without having sex at least once. Every day with Shunsui was different and would take her breath away. Sure he would drive her up the wall with his sometimes childlike behaviour, his laziness, his drinking (but never to the point where he was black out drunk) and his flirting. But even then he was still amazing and everything she ever wanted in a man. And his sex, oh man, she could still picture in vivid detail what the two of them had done the night before. So delicious.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" The warm, deep baritone voice washed over Rose like delicate silk and made her shiver ever so slightly. Shunsui chuckled at her reaction causing his warm breath to caress her skin. He was standing so close to her that she could sense his body heat and when he wrapped his arms around her waist she could not help but sigh in pleasure.

"Hmm you told me how beautifully I looked this morning." She replied while leaned further back into his embrace.

"What, only this morning? A crime like that should never be committed as your beauty should always be proclaimed. Every second on every day." He bent down and started to nuzzle her neck.

"Not here Shunsui." Smiled Rise as she tried to supress a gasp and push him away at the same time. She hated the effect he had on her body and for that reason she had forbidden him from doing any 'public displays of affection' as she feared they would get carried away. But Shunsui always enjoyed pushing the limits. Just the other day he had grabbed her while she was walking to out of his office and kissed her senseless in front of everybody. Before that the two of them had made love behind a small tea shop while Ukitake waited inside for them, completely oblivious to what they were doing. What could she say? All he had to do was look at her with those dark, lust filled eyes and she was his. Nanao had also been very specific when she had told them that if she ever walking in on them having sex in the office she would be 'most displeased'. And so Shunsui had been forced to wait until either of them were not in the office or in public before he could try anything with Rose. Rose found it hilarious watching Shunsui pout and beg her to leave the office early just so that he could have sex with her. It was rather adorable.

"Then we should leave now as my want for you is driving me crazy. All day I have thought of you…and me doing naughty things." Murmured Shunsui seductively in Rose's ear making her groan ever so quietly. He always used that voice when he had plans to do incredibly sinful things to her. It was a voice that promised hours of incredible pleasure.

Ever since Rose's return the two of them had been unable to go more than 12 hours without sex. In the morning Shunsui would wake her up with sex and then at night they would 'kiss' each other goodnight. The morning sex was always slow and sweet while the evening sex was always hot, heavy and sweaty. During the weekend Shunsui would never stop and simply ravish her until neither of them could move. They were both consumed by a never ending lust and passion for the other. They needed sex or else they would go insane with want.

Although Rose really wanted to leave the office and then spend the evening doing unspeakable things she still had some filling to finish. She had told Nanao earlier that dya that she would have finished categorizing the less sensitive documents from the 8th division archives. The Gotei 13 was trying to centralise all the archive information, which had previously been spread out across all the divisions, in order to make doing research easier. In the past collecting information had been a long and arduous task as one was expected to visit every single division just to get all the information required on one subject. So to make mattered easier, the Soutaicho had ordered that all the documents be sent to the first division. The archives were open to everybody who resided in the Seireitei. But of course, sensitive information would be locked away from the public eyes until it was deemed safe enough to be declassified. The centralisation of the archives was a huge project that demanded a lot of time and effort. Because Rose now had to work in the eighth division as part of her agreement with the Soutaicho, she had been put on the team responsible for the organisation and transport of the eighth division's archival information. However, as she was not a licenced Shinigami (and had no authority to look at the more sensitive information) she had been assigned to sort out the documents in section B of the eighth division archives. The documents there were rather dull and uninformative, such as the division roster for the last 1,000 years, order forms for sake, food, weapons and equipment and mission reports so old that the pages they had been written on had turned yellow. The job was dull and time consuming but somebody had to do it. At least she got paid to do it.

"I'm sorry Shunsui but I have to finish my work before we can go home." Explained Rose

"But you can just do it later. Come on, the work day ended like five minutes ago. Which means that I am five minutes late ravishing your body."

"I'm sorry but I promised Ise-Fukutaicho that I would have finished this pile by Monday." Rose indicated to the huge pile of carefully stacked papers beside Shunsui's desk. "I'm sorry but I can't leave with it not finished. Anyway I only have a few more papers to organize before we can go. It will only take a few minutes." She turned around to face Shunsui. He was only wearing his black Shihakushō and his hair looked even more dishevelled that usual, with a few stands coming lose from its usual ponytail and sticking to his face. The late afternoon sun shone through the window and made the sweat beads on his face glisten. Of course he was only sweating because of the heat and not because he had been doing any strenuous activities. Shunsui could lead several advanced Zanjutsu classes without even breaking a sweat. Even though he looked a little dishevelled it only made him look sexier. Damn him!

Shunsui exhaled. "Fine, I will wait. Also, I am curious about what had you so distracted a few moments ago."

Rose raised her eyebrow. "What makes you think that I was distracted?"

"You did not even notice my arrival until I was standing right behind you."

Rose pointed towards the desk. "I got a letter from the academy informing me that I had passed the entrance exam and that I have to go to the academy in a few days for orientation. But I don-." Shunsui silenced her with a kiss on her lips.

"I have always fantasied about sleeping with an academy student. Congratulations Rose." He kissed her again, longer and more passionate this time. Rose groaned and ran her hands up his back, feeling his hard muscles under her fingers.

"Well I hope I live up to your fantasies." Said Rose after the two of them had broken apart.

"Oh trust me anything that involves you is more than enough to make me wanting."

"Wanting?"

"Oh yes. All I have to do is think of you in cute little panties and I am left wanting you. Wanting to push you down onto the bed and remove you underwear with my teeth and then taste your delicate sweetness with my tongue over and over again." Rose gasped a little at Shunsui words and tried very hard to supress the growing need within her. As mentioned before all he had to do was say a few things and she was his. And to show her his need, Shunsui grinded his hips against hers. Rose could feel his growing arousal which only made her want him more.

"Come one Rose let's go home." Again Shunsui was using his sinfully good seductive tone. Rose was too far gone to argue this time. It was always the same, he just had to touch her in a certain way and she was putty in his hands.

"Yes." She murmured in a lustful tone.

Shunsui beamed and picked her up bridal style before shunpooing the two of them back to his quarters for some much needed sex.

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><p>There were storm clouds coming in from the east at a terrifyingly fast pace. Rose could see the lightning within the clouds followed by the loud boom of thunder. A storm was approaching and if Shunsui did not hurry up he would be caught in it. Both Shunsui and Nanao had been called out to different meetings that afternoon leaving Rose alone in the office to twiddle her thumbs in boredom. It was almost five o'clock (the end of the workday) and Rose was considering leaving the office early as she had nothing better to do. Maybe she could head back to Shunsui's quarters and bake a batch of lemon cupcakes? She had ones tried cooking for him, but it had turned out disastrous. He had laughed and said that although she could bake like a goddess her cooking skills were somewhat lacking to put it politely. Ever since then Shunsui had been the one to do all the cooking, which he did not mind as he saw it as an opportunity to woo his woman. And it always worked much to his joy.<p>

Rose was about to walk out the door when a young female division member came bursting through the door.

"I am sorry to interrupt Rose but one of the secretaries asked me to warn you that-that…they are coming." The woman shivered in obvious fear. Rose did not know whether to laugh or not as the sight was rather comical. Most of the division members had started to treat Rose with respect and many had started to become her friend. They had seen that their Taicho could not live without Rose and so they had come to accept her. Plus it was hard to hate the woman that supplied you with delicious cupcakes every now and then. Usually on a Friday afternoon Rose would spend several hours in the eighth division kitchen cooking a large patch of cupcakes for the division. The corridors would smell of delicious baked goods and sometime she would have to physically stop some more eager division members from entering the kitchen before her baking was done. Baking was sacred to her, a calming ritual that if broken meant death to that person. Shunsui found it very entertaining, but even he did not dare bother her while she baked.

"And who would this terrifying…being be?" smiled Rose in the hopes of calming the terrified division member.

"Taicho's family." Said the division member with hide eyes.

"Shunsui's family?" Shunsui very rarely talking about his family and Rose never pushed him to. He had once mentioned that his older brother had taken over as head of the family from his father a few decades ago and was currently one of the head nobles in Central 46. The Kyoraku family was a very rich and powerful family. Although they were not as powerful as the four noble families their influence was still phenomenal. Having a high ranking seat in central 46 only enforced their power. Rose had also heard from Shunsui that he rarely saw eye to eye with his older brother and father. Being of high nobility would usually mean that a person also had extremely powerful reiatsu, however, Shunsui was the only person in his close family to have powerful reiatsu. Both his father and brother was practically reiatsu-less, only having enough to counteract the low levels emitted throughout the Seireitei. His mother, on the other hand had an average amount of reiatsu, however, it was still downright impressive that Shunsui had been born with such high level reiatsu. There was also one thing that he told her before ending the conversation, which was that if she was to ever come across any off his family she was to send word for him immediately. She had always been curious as to why he asked her to do that.

The sound of footsteps informed them that the visitors were close "Hori-san, could you please send word to Shunsui that his family has come to visit him at his office and please have a pot of tea sent in. We do not want our guests to think that we are uncivil baboons." Asked Rose while heading towards the coffee table. She was curious, and a little nervous, to meet his parents and really wanted to make a good impressions of herself. The division member bowed a headed towards the door. However before she could open the door it was thrown open and three rather impressively dress people walked into the room.

"I see Shunsui is still incapable of cleaning up after himself." Declared a man with long black hair (with streaks of grey) which was neatly tied back in a ponytail and cold silver eyes. Rose assumed that his person was Shunsui's father. He wore a grey kimono with a pattern of silver dragons on it with a lighter grey sash tied around his waist. Everything about this man screamed nobleman.

"I heard that his second in command was neat and orderly, but I guess I heard wrong. If only he had been brought up differently." replied the only women in the trio. Her hair was almost exactly like Shunsui's, except a shade or two lighter. She wore a light blue Kimono with bright, colourful flowers and a bright pink sash. In Rose's mind she would have looked pretty if she had not be scrunching her nose up in disgust.

"Don't blame yourself, mother, you tried everything you could but Shunsui just cannot be controlled." Said the last man in the group who Rose assumed was Shunsui's brother. He was almost the exact opposite to Shunsui. His hair was short and black but his eyes were the same shade of brown, only not a kind and as gently. He wore a black kimono and a white Haori with the insignia of central 46 sewn onto the back.

Rose looked towards the startled division member and nodded her head, allowing the terrified woman to carry out her orders. The woman bowed and ran out the room without looking back. Rose took and deep breathe and then addressed her guests.

"Good afternoon." She bowed her head in greeting. "To what do we owe this unexpected meeting?" She looked up at the guests and saw that they were looking at her with disgust.

"And who are you?" questioned Shunsui's father in a voice full of distain.

"Do not bother asking her name, Father, that is Rose Bentley, the woman Shunsui is currently seeing." Sneered Shunsui's brother.

Rose bit her inner cheek to prevent herself from replying. How dare that man address her as such! But she already had much experience with snobbish nobles and knew that ignoring their taunts was the best way to go about dealing with them as starting a conflict was simply not worth it.

"Oh I see. You…woman are you not going to offer us refreshments?" snapped Shunsui's mother.

"My apologies Ma'am, I will inquire as to what is taking the tea so long." Rose successfully managed to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "In the meantime please make yourself comfortable." She pointed towards the sofa. "I am sorry but Shun…Kyoraku Taicho is currently unavailable at the moment. But I am sure that he will be along shortly." Rose headed towards the door in the hopes of escaping bit a voice stopped her.

"Stay." She turned around and saw that it was the father who had spoken. "We came all the way here to speak to you so please do not run off." There was coldness to his voice.

Rose really did not want to hand around these people much longer but leaving them would only make matters worse. Her only hope was that Shunsui arrived soon to save her from his family. Slowly she made her way towards the sofa and sat facing the guests.

"Now…Rose Bentley…tell us what are your motivation for seeing my son. Is it money? Power?" Questioned the mother.

Rose was just about the open her mouth when the brother interrupted. "Now, now Mother aren't her motivations obvious. She wants his money, just like all the other women he has picked up in the past. I am just surprised that he kept her this long. I wonder, Rose Bentley, are you really that good at blowing my brother's dick?" Shunsui's brother's face broke out into a terrible, sneer that made Rose want to hit him. Not only had he spoken for her, but he had also implied that she was a gold digger. The nerve of him.

"Sachi please do not use just language in the presence of your mother." Said Shunsui's father in a disapproval tone.

Sachi looked at his father. "My apologies, father." There was a knock at the door.

"Please enter." Said Rose in a gentle voice which did not reflect how she felt inside. The door opened and in walked a division member carrying a tray with a pot of tea and four mugs on it. The division member looked at Rose with sorrow in her eyes, before placing the tray down on the coffee table and making a hasty retreat.

Rose picked up the tea pot and poured tea into the four mugs. "My motives for seeing your son are simple. He loves me and I love him, that is all there is too it." She placed the mugs of tea in front of her guests before taking a generous sip from her own mug. The warm liquid soothed her tense muscles and calm her mind ever so slightly. She would survive this meeting if she did not let what these despicable people say get to her. But still, WHO THE FUCK DID THEY THINK THEY WERE!? They had no right to march into Shunsui's office and claim that she was a common whore and a gold digger. Noble or not that was considered rude. No wonder Shunsui did not speak about his family to anyone.

A cruel laughter rang around the room. "Love you say? Ha! Please do not treat us like ignorant peasants. We know woman like you. You come along and claim that you 'love' the noble rich man in front of you, but then you leave the moment you get your hands on his money. It is disgraceful! Have you no dignity in your life? How dark and cruel your soul must be." Said Shunsui's mother in a tone that made Rose growl ever so silently.

"But it's understandable, Mother." Said Sachi while picking up his mug of tea and whipping it with a silk cloth. "We, at central 46 heard all about it but it is unlikely that the news reached the nobles."

"Oh and what would that be'"

"She was apparently a common human whore before she was first taken to the Soul Society. Apparently men from all classes in the Human world could purchase her services and do whatever they wanted to her. That being the case it is understandable why she would target Shunsui. Once a whore, always a whore. But I would have thought that you would have changed the way you acted after coming to the Soul Society."

Rose brought her mug of tea down onto the table with a little more force than was necessary. "I am no common whore, but you are partially right. In my past life I was sold for sex but it was against my consent. I was a child sex slave being used by Kurosawa for his own twisted desires. I am not targeting Shunsui and I do not want his money."

"So you admit to having men pay you for services. This is even worse than we thought, Kazushi, and the worst part is that she admits it. At least the woman in Shunsui's past never admitted to wanting his money." Said Shunsui's mother.

"Agreed Yae. And I thought I had seen it all. Shunsui has slept with whores before, but at least he had the sense to never sleep with a whore and a gold digger at the same time." Kazushi Kyoraku shot his head.

"I am not a gold digger or a whore." Snapped Rose.

"Do not use that tone against my father!" Shouted Sachi.

Rose glared at Sachi as silence descended in the room. It was also suspiciously quiet outside the office, signalling that the secretaries were either eavesdropping or had run for it. But it did not matter whether anybody was eavesdropping in on the conversation or not as news of Shunsui family arriving at the eighth division to speak to his lover would most likely spread throughout the Seireitei like wild fire. Hell the gossip might reach Shunsui before the hell butterfly the division member sent to him did.

"A girl like yourself should show more respect to people like us." Said Sachi after an awkward pause.

"A girl like me?"

"Peasant girls like yourself should know her place and show more respect to nobles like us. Even the brats that come out of the Rukongai know their place. But you, you are even lower than them. Filth that is what we call you. A filthy, dirty whore with no true meaning to your despicable lif-." Sachi words were cut off by the sound of china smashing.

In her anger Rose had slammed her mug of tea don on the coffee table with enough force that it smashed in her hands. Tea and drops of blood slowly trickled off the coffee table and onto the floor as silence descended across the room. Rose was so angry. Sachi had called her all the worst possible names imaginable, and the worst part was that he had been right. When she had been a sex slave her life had no true meaning. All she had done day after day was either spreading her legs for another customer or lying on a bed awaiting Kurosawa's next cruel experiment. She had been a whore, a worthless whore with no meaning to her life. Hot angry tears started to fill her eyes but she willed them not to fall. It would only show Sachi that his words had really hurt her.

The door to the office flew open with a loud bang. All heads turned and saw a rather dishevelled and out of breathe Shunsui panting in the doorway. "Mother, Father…Sachi, what are you doing here?" There was a hint of accusation in his tone.

"You have finally arrived." stated Kazushi Kyoraku while shooting his son a cold look.

Shunsui chose to ignore his father comment and marched right up to where Rose was sitting.

"Rose?" He crouched down next to her and saw that her hand was bleeding. "You're bleeding." Slowly he reached out and gently took her hand in his. She hissed ever so silently causing him to look at her in concern. He could see the tears brimming in her eyes which made him see red. What had his family said to her that would make her cry?

"Don't act so concerned Shunsui the silly girl did it to herself." Stated Yae Kyoraku in a nonchalant voice.

"But what did you say to her that caused her to react in such a way?" hissed Shunsui with barely contained anger. He hated seeing Rose cry and right now all he wanted to do was hug her tightly to his chest and whisper words of comfort. But firstly he needed to know what had been said so that he could do some damage control. It was so typical of his family to leave him with the clean-up.

"No need to sound so angry Shunsui. We just informed her of our opinions on your relationship." Said Sachi before taking a sip of his tea. An act done to hide his smirk.

Shunsui looked between his family and Rose and was able to put two and two together. His family's judgement was always very cruel and he felt terrible for not arriving sooner.

"Rose are you ok?" He asked her in a quiet voice. He desperately wanted to know that she was ok.

Rose removed her hand from Shunsui's grasp and stood up slowly. "I will be fine shun-Kyoraku Taicho." She said in a weak tone. "I will take me leave, sir." She bowed, ignoring Shunsui frown at being addressed so formally before turning around and walking out the room.

Shunsui stared at the door in silence trying very hard to control his anger. Rose had sounded so vulnerable and hurt before taking her leave. It tore at his heart to know that she was so hurt.

"Well at least the girl has some manners. I thought that she was a hopeless case, but I guess I was wrong." Said Yae Kyoraku.

"You have no idea what you have done." Said Shunsui quietly.

"What was that?"

"I said that you have no idea what you have just done!" shouted Shunsui.

"Now, now Shunsui no need to get all dramatic I am sure the girl will be fine." Said Kazushi Kyoraku.

"What did you say to her?" asked Shunsui silently in a tone full of anger.

"The truth."

"Which was."

"That a common whore like herself should not be interacting with people like us." Said Sachi with a casual wave of his hands.

Shunsui looked at Sachi like he could not believe what he had just said. Of course he and Rose both knew that gossip about their relationship would most likely spread and that some of it would not be very pleasant. But still, being called a whore to the face by somebody who meant every word was still painful.

"You called her a whore." He whispered in disbelief.

"Oh stop acting so dramatic Shunsui. I just called her what she is." Replied Sachi.

"She was raped!" shouted Shunsui, his anger now getting the better of himself. "And you should have known that as you are a member of central 46. She was a victim of Kurosawa's cruel plot to take revenge against the Soul Society and you say that she was a whore because of it. She-she had no choice in the matter!" Shunsui stood up and marched towards the window. He could not believe his family! They had said some hurtful things in the past but never to this extent. Rose was still traumatized by her past and so calling her a whore was going to affect her more than it would any other girl.

Shunsui family stayed silent, watching as he glared out the window. The storm had finally hit, causing rain to fall at an intense pace. The sky would light up occasionally with lightening followed moments later by a loud boom. Rose had most likely gone back to his quarters, but still the idea of her walking outside in a storm caused him to worry. All he wanted was to go and comfort her. Hell it was going to take a lot of convincing to make her understand that she was not a whore or a gold digger and that he loved her. Over time Rose had gotten better at accepting herself and her past. She now did not think of herself as a whore and someone who had deserved her past. But somehow Shunsui knew that all the progress she had made would be thrown out the window because of his parents chosen words. Sometimes he really hated his family. He extended his reiatsu out in search of Rose and found her crouched in the kitchen. But the way her reiatsu was flowing erratically through her body showed that she was very agitated and upset. He needed to get to her and calm her down before she did something stupid.

Slowly he turned back to face his family. Rose needed him now more than his family and quite frankly he could not care less about them right now. Whatever they had to say to him could be mentioned in a letter to him.

"I'm going back to my quarters before this storm get any worse. You are not to speak to Rose again without me being in the room. Do I make myself clear?" His voice was full of steel and his reiatsu fluttered around him in barely contained rage. Shunsui's family flinched ever so slightly in fear as they felt the weight of his angry reiatsu wash against them. Shunsui may not be the most influential member of the Kyoraku household, but he was the most powerful and thus is family feared him ever so slightly.

Shunsui did not wait for their answer and simply shunpooed out of the room, leaving the guests to make their own way out. It was disrespectful but he really could not care less.

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><p>Her clothes were soaked through but Rose did not care. Her black shihakushō clung to her body while she walked through Shunsui quarters to the bathroom. She had never felt so angry and so miserable in her life before. The words that his family had said to her had cut deep into her body. She knew that people would be gossiping behind her back about her relationship but she had never perceived that it would this bad.<p>

People inside of the eighth division and out (not including Maya and her group of followers) had accepted her relationship with Shunsui. She was now free to love him out in public (minus public displays of affection) without fear of most people judging her. But of course the Shinigami world was far different to that of the nobles. The Seireitei was divided into four unofficial sections. The first was where all the Gotei 13 barracks and houses of residence were located. The second section was where the Shin'o academy was located while the third was the major shopping district. The Fourth and by far larges section was where all the nobles resided. The Shinigami and nobles very rarely mingled and so gossip was very rarely passed between them (the same could be said for academy students and Shinigami). Only the Taichos had access to the nobles but the Taichos very rarely gossiped. With that being the case, news of Rose's relationship with Shunsui had not reached the ears of the nobles. When it had reached the ears of the nobles their opinions were divided. The lower level nobles generally accepted their relationship as many of their relatives had married people considered below their standing. However, the higher level nobles (like the Kyoraku family) simply could not face any member of their family marrying below their social class. They saw Shunsui's relationship with Rose as a sign of the upcoming apocalypse.

Rose had never felt more humiliated in her life. It was bad enough that people thoughts that she was a whore, but now they thought she was a gold digger. She had never accepted any of Shunsui's money. She was not married to him so she should not be allowed any share of him money. Shunsui had obviously disagreed with her and had insisted that she take some of his money. But Rose had refused. She was going to earn her money. This had driven Shunsui up the wall as he insisted on her using his money to buy the things she wanted. But she refused all the time and eventually he conceded. His respect for her was deep.

Blood trickled slowly down her hand and splatted onto the tiled floor as she stood there. Shunsui had remodelled the bathroom during her absence (along with the rest of the house) and so it now contained a humongous bathtub fit for several people, a luxurious shower and a counter with two sinks. It had obviously been designed to accommodate two people thus showing that Shunsui truly believed that Rose would return to him someday. Rose walked towards the bathroom stool and sat down. The pain, which had previously been muted by the anger in her heart, returned in full force. Her hand burnt and stung while blood trickled out of the large gashes. She would need to clean her wound up least she want it to become infected. Rose stood up and walked over to the bathroom cabinet and pulled out the first aid kit and then walked back to the stool, taking with her the small purple hand towel that usually hung by the sink. She hissed in pain as she pressed the towel to her injury. The gash burnt and seared under the pressure but it did nothing to quell the pain in her heart. She hated herself, hated the fact that her present life was still tainted by her brutal past. Would she always be called a whore? It had taken Shunsui a long time to make her admit that she was not a whore but deep down Rose knew that it was not a mask that somebody just removed. It was like a brand, the type that Kurosawa had put on her thigh all those years ago. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, it was still there. She would always be a whore.

The confrontation with the Kyoraku family had humiliated her. Rose was always at the centre of all the gossip because of her relationship with Shunsui but she had learnt to ignore it. And anyway most of it was harmless. But now she was going to have to endure the whispered conversations on how the Kyoraku Family hated her. It was humiliating knowing that, not only your lover's family hated you, but that the entire community knew of it. Life was so cruel sometimes.

A flash of pink caught her attention and the next thing she knew she was engulfed in a tight, loving hug.

"Rose, darling Rose I am so, so sorry." Whispered Shunsui as he held her close. Rose inhaled his heavenly scent and felt all the anger, shame and humiliation flow out of her body.

"Shunsui." she whispered and buried her nose into his collar. She could feel him relax as all the tension in his body slowly left.

"I tried getting there as soon as I could. I was just leaving the meeting when I got the hell butterfly and so I shunpooed there as fast as I could…but I guess I was too late. Oh Rose I am so sorry." Explained Shunsui rather desperately. He needed her to understand that he had tried to prevent this from happening. Rose allowed herself to be pulled closer into his tight embrace which made her smile internally as she being held by lover's arms and that was all that really mattered. Time seemed to stop as the two of them held each other. Nothing beyond the four walls that surrounded them mattered. On occasion Shunsui would tenderly kiss Rose's head while murmuring words of apology. He knew that she was strong but even the strongest of people fell victim to his family's harsh tongue.

"Let me see your wound." Whispered Shunsui after a while. The two of them had somehow ended up on the floor, with Rose held tightly in Shunsui's arms. Rose disentangled herself from Shunsui's arms and sat back on her knees, facing him. Slowly she removed the towel which had been held against her wound and tried not to hiss in pain. She saw his face darken as he took in the two long gashes across her palm.

"Rose I am so sorry."

"It's not your fault Shunsui. You did not know that they were going to turn up in your office and you did not make me smash that mug. I should not have acted the way I had." She looked down at her wounds and grimaced. She hated the sight of blood.

"I would say you acted correctly given the circumstances. My family did say some horrible things."

Rose shuffled sheepishly. "I still should not have smashed my mug."

Shunsui took her injured hand in his with great care." The wounds do not look that deep so you will not be needing stiches. I have seen people reacting differently to my families insults and smashing a mug has been one of the most tamed things I have seen."

"You make it sound like this happens often." Said Rose in a calm voice.

"Sadly it does. My family enjoy looking down on people and insulting them. It think it gives them some sort of sick pleasure to insult the people they think are below them. I see it all the time with nobility." Shunsui looked up and saw the hurt and tears in Rose's eyes. "Oh Rose please don't cry. The things they say are always lies."

"But they called me a whore." She whispered.

"Which is untrue." He replied. Rose shifted uncomfortably. "You believe what they said about you." He continued before sighing. "I thought we were passed this Rose."

"I thought we were too, but your family just brought up all the old feelings I had."

Shunsui looked at Rose before leaning forwards and kissing her gently on the lips. "You are not a whore. You were a sex slave in the past but that does not make you a whore in the present. Not that you ever were a whore. Nobody worthy of your time thinks that you are a whore and the rest…well like I said they are not worth your time. The people who call you a whore are ignorant and jealous of you and are only searching for something to make themselves feel batter. Giving in and accepting the title that they gave you is only allowing them victory. Do you think that you are a whore?" he asked gently.

"No." whispered Rose.

"Well then that is all that matter. Let the others who think that you are a whore wallow in their own self-pity and meaningless attempts to make themselves feel happy. And as for my family, well they would want nothing more than to remove you from my side." Said Shunsui before opening the first aid kit and pulling out some antiseptic.

"Why do your parents want to separate us…I mean apart from the fact that they think that I am bellow you." Asked Rose in between hisses of pain. The antiseptic burnt her wounds.

"I'm sorry." Murmured Shunsui whenever she hissed in pain. "I don't really know why my parents want to separate us. I could be that they think of you as a threat. Or that they want me to feel miserable."

"Why would they want that? And why am I seen as a threat?"

"You are a woman with new ideas which is seen as a threat to their way of life. Unlike many noble woman you want to work for your money and you believe that there are better things in the world than money and power. To answer your first question, my parents have always disliked me. I did not follow the rules as a child. I wanted something more than the noble life. And when I was sent to the academy they refused to speak to me. Oh we would meet during large family functions because they needed to keep face, but beyond that we never spoke. I was too wild for them and I 'sullied the family name with my actions'. Ever since then we have rarely spoken. They would want nothing more than for me to come crawling back to them, begging forgiveness and so they plan to remove everything that makes me happy in order to do that." Shunsui was trying to keep his tone even but some of the anger he felt escaped. He turned back to the first aid kit and pulled out the white bandages.

"That is terrible." Exclaimed Rose while watching Shunsui bandage her wound.

"I know. But they are my family and no matter how hard I try I still have to put up with them." He finished bandaging up her wounds. "I want you to understand this." He looked up at her. "I will never let them take you away from me…ever…because I love you, more than anything in the world."

It might have been the seriousness of his tone, or the determination in his voice but Rose could feel her blood boil. He was going to stand by her side and fight for her. It was possibly on of the best declarations of love she had ever heard.

"Well I don't plan on letting them either." Whispered Rose before pulling Shunsui in for a kiss. The kiss was passionate, desperate and lustful as Rose tried to express as best as possible how much she loved this man. He was her everything, her life. Nothing was going to take him away from her. Shunsui groaned and deepened the kiss, his tongue dominating her mouth. The storm outside was nothing compared to the hotand heavy passion in the bathroom.

"Make love to me." Whispered Rose when the two of them departed for air.

"It would be my pleasure."

Shunsui gently helped Rose to her feet and led her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. With gently hands he slowly started to peal of her sodden Shihakushō until she was standing in her light pink, lacy underwear.

"Hmm I like your underwear." Murmured Shunsui as he peppered Rose's neck with kisses. His hands wrapped around her back and began to fumble with her bra strap. With great ease he was able to unclasp it and gently pull it down her body. "But I prefer you naked and lying on my bed." he continued before throwing the bra across the room.

It did not take him long to remove her panties as well leaving her naked. Rose had always thought that it felt erotic to stand pressed up against Shunsui naked while he still had all his clothes on. It made the whole scene seem naughtier and had the added effect of making her all the more needier. Slowly she grinded her naked body up and down his, feeling his hard erection and abs brush against her body. Shunsui groaned and pushed his erection into her and started to run his hands up and down her body. Feeling particularly brave Rose dipped her hand down his Hakama and started to play with his erection, causing him to moan. The duo sensation of her rubbing his breast up against his chest while touching his erection was intense. Over and over she would run her hands up and down his shaft while pressing her breasts into him. She was teasing him with her breast while simultaneously begging him to release with her hands. Shunsui could not believe the little minx that stood there naked in front of him was his darling Rose. Before she had been so shy about everything and now here she was driving him crazy with her stimulation. And then she dropped to her knees in front of him…

"I'm thirsty." Explained Rose before pulling his erection free of his hakama.

Shunsui moaned when he felt her lips enclose around his member and suck…hard. His hands moved down and laced into her hair while he tried to control the intense please coursing through him. Rose used varying technics in the hopes of heightening Shunsui's pleasure. She would deep throat him for a bit before changing to teasing licks on his tip. At one point she lightly ran her teeth up and down his member and watched as his eyes flew open and a strangled cry escaped his lips. It felt so empowering watching one of the strongest Taichos in the Seireitei come apart in her mouth. She could feel his muscles tense.

"I'm gonna cum Rose. If you don't want me to cum in your mouth then you should pull out now." Groaned Shunsui.

Rose replied by sucking harder. Shunsui threw his head back and cried out as he came. His hot, thick release spurted out in powerful blasts and painted the back of her mouth white. Rose used her hands to massage Shunsui balls to prolong his orgasm while she swallowed blast after blast of his release. Shunsui felt himself going weak as his heavenly orgasm final came to an end. The devilish vixen in front to him released his members and licked her lips seductively.

"As always Shunsui you taste delicious."

Suddenly Rose felt the world spin and found herself pressed up against Shunsui, her back to his front.

"You little minx." Said Shunsui while pressing his hips into her backside. Rose cried out when he plunged two of his fingers into her warm, wet core and started to pump them in and out. With his thumb he pressed down on her clit that caused her to writher in pleasure. Her body withering against his was making him hard again, and soon enough he was ready for another round. However, Shunsui was not finished yet as he wanted to show Rose his gratitude. Rose could feel her legs weakening her as lover pumped in and out of her. The pleasure was intense and exactly what she needed to clench her burning need. Her orgasm was building and building into she was hanging on the edge. Just a few more pumps and she would burst into intense pleasure…

And then Shunsui's fingers stopped.

"No Shunsui please." Pleaded Rose as her need for him burnt within her. She tried to force him to continue by grinding her hips up against his but all that resulted in was him grapping hold of her hips to still her.

"Patience my dear." Teased Shunsui before latching onto her earlobe. Rose whined and panted as she felt her orgasm die within her. Her need to orgasm might have gone but desire and want was still there, and twice as powerful.

"Please." Pleaded Rose in a desperate whine.

Shunsui chuckled. "Well aren't we a needy person tonight."

"Please." Whispered Rose. "Please, please, PLEASE." She voice was becoming more desperate as the fire within her burnt.

Shunsui sighed and then pushed Rose down onto the bed. She caught herself before she smacked face first into the covers. She was on her hands and knees with her needy, wet core on full display.

Shunsui whistled quietly behind her. "What a sight to behold."

"Please."

"Please what Rose?"

He wanted his pound of flesh. "Please take me Shunsui." begged Rose.

Shunsui removed his shihakushō and climbed onto the bed behind her. "As much as I would like to do that I have other things planned for you." He bent down behind her and positioned his mouth in front of her slit. Rose moaned when she felt his warm breath on her wet folds.

"You look positively delicious." He murmured before licking her slit slowly with his warm tongue. Rose cried out as she felt the warm, wet, velvet tongue stroke her most intimate of places. Her desire to orgasm suddenly came back and with every stroke of Shunsui's tongue the need grew until she felt like she was on fire. Her clit was also abused by his delicious tongue making her feel dizzy and weak.

"Delicious." Murmured Shunsui before he pushed his tongue in between her folds and started to eat her out. Rose could not take it anymore and came, loudly. Her juices started to gush out of her but Shunsui, the ever dutiful lover, lapped it all up. Her legs gave out underneath her as she collapsed forwards, panting harshly as she tried recover. Although she had just experience an extremely pleasurable orgasm she was not yet satisfied. Rose lifted her head and looked over her shoulder at Shunsui who was watching her intently.

"Did you like that?" He asked.

Rose looked down and saw that he was gently stroking himself. "Yes." She whispered with want in her voice. The sight of him stroking himself was mouth-watering and gave her growing arousal a boost.

He looked up at her and then down at his member in his hands before smiling wickedly at her. "Do you like what you see?"

"Too much."

Shunsui inhaled. "Well then I would not like to disappoint a lovely lady such as yourself."

"Take me Shunsui." said Rose with lust in her eyes.

"Are you sure you want me to take you from behind?" asked Shunsui. He did not want to push her.

"Yes." She replied a little shakily. She could do this.

Rose could feel Shunsui's intense gaze on her naked backside and she positioned herself again on her hands and knees in front of him. In the past the position had made her very uncomfortable and vulnerable as she could not see Shunsui's face. In fact the position reminded her too much of her past and so she had been a little sceptical in using it. However, as her self-image and confidence improved so did her willingness to use this sex position.

Shunsui shuffled up behind her and pressed his muscular thighs into her backside. Next, his hot hands were placed on her waist as he slowly positioned himself at her dripping entrance. Rose gasped as she felt Shunsui long, thick length sink in between her folds, stretching her in the most delicious way she could possibly imagine. He only stopped pushing when he had completely sheathed himself inside of her. In this position he could sink deeper inside of her, and thus increase the feeling of fullness. Rose moaned and pushed her hips back and grinded against Shunsui pelvis. Doggie style was one of Shunsui's favourite positions as it allowed him to look at is partner's bottom while he pounded her. But Rose used to feel so vulnerable in the position so he rarely used it. In fact he was so surprised that she had wanted to use it this time round.

Slowly he pulled back out of her until only the tip of his member was inside of her before thrusting forwards while pulling her back at the same time. Rose screamed as his member hit all the right places inside of her and stretched her deliciously. Over and over again he pulled out of her and slammed back in, groaning at the wonderful sensation of her wet folds around his ragging erection. Slowly he leaned over her, making sure to rub his coarse chest hair up and back. He was everywhere, on top of her, around her…inside of her. She was drowning in him yet she did not want it to end. Shunsui moved to cup Rose's breasts. The dual sensation of having her breasts fondled and him pounding her was mind blowing. Rose screamed, moaned and gasped as Shunsui took her pleasure to new heights.

"Shunsui." she gasped after he hit another delicious spot inside of her

Shunsui moaned and latched onto her neck and started to kiss and suck her.

"Shunsui!" cried out Rose as the pleasure was beginning to be too much. Her muscles began to tighten while her hands clenched the bed sheets. His hot breath was on her shoulder, coming out in hot, harsh pants which was driving her wild. And suddenly the pleasure became too much. Rose screamed as her orgasm took over her body but still Shunsui drove into her.

Shunsui was trying very hard not to succumb to the intense pleasure of his partner cumming around his erection and by some miracle he held on. Rose had been through a rather trying evening so he was going to pay her back by making her experience some of the most intense pleasure a body could experience, over and over again. On some level he believed that he owed it to her.

Rose screamed when she felt Shunsui hand wrap around her waist and start to play with her clit. White hot pleasure shot up her spine and weakened her body. Her arms gave way underneath her sending her crashing onto the bed. Her backside was now being offered up to Shunsui who took advantage of the situation to pound her harder and faster. Rose's passionate screams were muffled by the sheets, however, they were still loud enough for Shunsui to know that she enjoyed everything that was happening to her. He could feel his own end approaching but he wanted his partner to cum one more time before he ended. So he increased the pressure of his fingers on her clit and thrusted harder and faster into her warm folds. It might have been that she was still recovering from her previous orgasm or that her body was experiencing even more pleasure than before, but Rose came almost immediately. She screamed as her muscled contracted around Shunsui's member, begging him to release into her.

"Rose!" shouted Shunsui as he came, shooting his load into her warm depths. Over and over again his member shot out his release in agonizingly good pleasure that left him feeling weak. Rose could feel his warm release entering her body which only prolonged her orgasm. It was agony, yet pleasurable at the same time. Rose could feel what was felt of her strength leaving and if it was not for her lover holding onto her waist she would have collapsed onto the ground. Shunsui pulled out of his lover before allowed his body to sink down onto the bed as his muscled all turned to mush after such a good round of sex. With the last of his strength he pulled his lover towards him so that her front was pressed to his in a rather messy tangle of sweaty and tired limbs. Rose even breath tickled his chest hair while she tried to recover from her own orgasm. She felt so comfortable, lying on her lover's chest, inhaling his scent and feeling his warmth. Shunsui felt the weigh on his chest becoming limper before he looked down and saw that Rose had fallen asleep. Her brown hair was draped across her shoulders and her body glowed. He had never seen anybody so beautiful in his life. Although the day had proven to be trying, what with the unexpected arrival of his parents, it now ended with a sort of tranquillity and gentleness that seemed to wrap around the two of them. Life was going to be challenging or them but together they were strong enough to handle it. Little did they know that events were going to be put in motion that would rip the two of them apart.

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><p><strong>Hi Guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Just to say this story is going to be a long one and so I might break it down into two parts. As always please leave a review or favorite this story :) <strong>


	2. Chapter 2: The Mission

Chapter 3: The Mission

**I forgot to mention at the beginning that this story takes place a few months after the end of 'The Interesting yet Traumatic Life of Rose Bentley' and a few years after the Winter Wars. **

**Warning: light lemon **

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><p>"Shunsui you really do not have to do this." Said Rose as they walked passed a large tea house just off the high street in the shopping district. It was a Sunday and Rose was expected to go to the Academy for orientation and Shunsui had insisted on escorting her there, much to her displeasure.<p>

"But you might get lost, or hurt and as a gentleman it is my job to make sure that no harm comes to my girl." He smiled down at her. Although he had used a joking tone, there was still the presence of steel.

"But we are in the centre of the Seireitei so in theory that should make it all the more secure."

"I am not worried about thieves, my darling Rose." Ever since Shunsui's parents had come to visit him at the division he had become extra protective of Rose. He would always find excuses to escort her to places where she had previously gone alone, like to the thirteenth division for her weekly baking sessions with Hana. His eyes would away dart around in their sockets, like he was scouting for incoming enemies…or in his case family members.

Rose stopped in her tracks and turned to Shunsui. "Shunsui, your parents are not going to jump out at me from behind a shop or a tea house so you can relax. I know why you're doing this and I am flattered that you would care so much, but you have to stop. Besides you don't want to be late for your Taicho meeting, which incidentally starts in twenty minutes."

Shunsui exhaled. "I'm sorry Rose. It's just that I don't want to leave you in such a vulnerable position ever again. What my parents and brother said to you is inexcusable." The two of them had stopped in the street but the other shoppers simply walked around them.

"Shunsui, you said so yourself that we need to move on and not dwell on the past. Acting like this is only giving your family the satisfaction of knowing that they have affected us." Rose lifted her hand up to cares her lover's cheek. "I love you Shunsui and it's going to take more than words to drive me away." She moved to stand on her tip toes and kissed him lovingly on the lips.

"You're right my love, I was letting their actions affect me more than they should. Now let's get moving so that you're not late for orientation." He grabbed her hand and started to lead her down the street.

"Wait Shunsui, don't you remember what the Soutaicho told us just last night?" asked Rose with a hint of desperation to her voice.

"Ah don't worry nobody will expect a thing."

"You are a Taicho, of course they are going to notice."

"You are overreacting."

"Only because you're being reckless."

"Come on darling, all I want is to wish you good luck." Shunsui looked down at her with his usual pouting face.

Rose looked away and exhaled. Sometimes he could be so irritating sometimes. The night before the Soutaicho had summoned the two of them to his office in order to talk to them about their relationship and the academy.

_The night before in the Soutaicho's office._

"_Good evening Yama-jii," said Shunsui while leading Rose into the room. The Soutaicho was sitting behind his desk with a steaming mug of tea clasped between his hands. _

"_Good evening Yamamoto Soutaicho." Bowed Rose before allowing herself to be led to the centre of the room. She did not fail to notice that Shunsui was standing slightly in front of her, like he was trying to shield her from the Soutaicho. It was rather sweat as he knew that she was intimidated by the man._

"_Shunsui, Rose, I have summoned the two of you this evening to talk to you about your…relationship. The form that the two of you sent in a few weeks ago, stating that your relationship would not affect your work, has been approved. It is encouraging to see that so far your relationship has not negatively affected your ability to work together. However, there are still a few more orders that I must ask you two to obey."_

"_Orders Yama-ji?" Questioned Shunsui. He did not like where this was going. Having someone dictate to him how to live his life was not something he generally agreed to._

_The Soutaicho chose to ignore Shunsui's question and diverted his attention instead towards Rose. She flinched ever so slightly when she felt the weight of his 'gaze' on her. _

"_Rose Bentley, You have been accepted into the academy but it is against the rules for an academy student to have an intimate relationship with a member of the Gotei 13." Rose could feel her heart sinking. She hated to think where this was going. "However, as you started seeing Shunsui intimately before you were accepted into the academy I have decided to allow your relationship to continue." Next to her Shunsui's body relaxed ever so slightly. "But the two of you must keep your relationship a secret. News of your relationship has not reached the ears of the students, the teachers, on the other hand, know. If your relationship is discovered then I will be forced to order you to end it."_

"_And what happens if the students find out on their own accord?" Asked Shunsui. _

"_If the students find out on their own accord then no punishment will be given. However, if either of you tell them, or hint to them that the two of you are in a relationship then I will have no choice but to order that you end it. Is that clear?" replied the Soutaicho._

"_Yes sir."_

"_Yes Yama-jii."_

"_Moving on, Rose your entrance exam results showed that you already have substantial skills in some classes offered at the academy. It would be foolish to ask you to join the first year. So I talked with the headmaster at the school and we have decided that you will join the third year. However, your time table will be different from that of your fellow third year classmates. Instead of taking four intermediate Zanjutsu classes a week, you will take two intermediate and two advanced Zanjutsu classes. The same will be applied to your World of the Living studies. It was also reported that you lacked substantial skills in Kido so you will have to take beginner classes as well as intermediate classes."_

_Rose nodded her head. "I understand sir." _

"_Very well. The two of you may leave." _

_Shunsui and Rose bowed before leaving the room._

_End of flashback._

"We can't risk the two of us being seen together in this part of the Seireitei otherwise people are going to start asking questions." Explained Rose, while trying to escape the hand that Shunsui had just put around her shoulder.

"Oh come on don't you think you are being a bit paranoid. They could just assume we know each other as acquaintances."

"Please Shunsui." Rose looked up and him and pouted.

Shunsui sighed. He could never refuse his girl anything. "Ok fine. The academy is just round this corner anyway but before you go." He grabbed her around the waist and shunpooed the two of them down a small alleyway to their left.

"Shunsui what are you doing" cried out Rose while the world around her spun dizzyingly. "You know I do not like bei-." She was silenced by a loving kiss to her lips.

"You can't expect me to leave you without kissing you goodbye." Smiled Shunsui before placing his lips back down on hers. It was a slow, gently kiss that sent tingles all the way down to Rose's toes.

"Hmm Shunsui you are going to make me late." She murmured before replacing her lips on his for another delicious kiss.

"I should be saying the same to you". They kissed again.

His hands moved down and squeezed her bottom, making her moan. The kiss deepened and became more passionate as the two of them fought for dominance. Shunsui eventually won and plundered Rose's mouth with his warm, velvet tongue. She tasted like the mint toothpaste she used in the morning and smelled like her favourite soap: Orange. When the need to breath arose the two of them broke apart.

"Go now Rose before I whisk you off back to my bed and never let you leave." Panted Shunsui with dark lust in his eyes. That kiss had been unexpected, but whenever he kissed her the animalistic need inside of him took over and turned him into a wild animal.

Rose blinked several times before smiling seductively. "Maybe I want you to drag me back."

Shunsui gasped slightly. "Don't talk like that or else I might just do it and then the two of us will be late." He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Now go darling."

Rose smiled widely before turning around and walking away. Shunsui spent a moment watching as her luscious bottom disappeared down the alleyway. She had put on weight during the year they had been separated and as a result her body had become more curvaceous. Her breasts were slightly above average but that did not matter as her bottom was simply perfect. It was big, juicy and everything Shunsui ever wanted. But of course Rose hated it and complained about her huge bottom all the time. But he absolutely loved it. Just watching it sway from side to side was enough to make him hard. He could spend all day watching it.

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><p>Rose walked around the corner and saw a huge, four story building with a bronze roof and white walls. There was a massive bronze gateway with the words 'Shin'o Academy' written on a large plaque above the entranceway. Beyond the gateway was a large courtyard full of people standing around in either elegant or simple attire. Rose guessed that the elegantly dressed people were from the many noble family that lived inside the Seireitei. The others, she assumed, were either from the Rukongai or from one of the many merchant families living inside the Seireitei.<p>

Slowly she made her way through the throng of people towards the huge building. Just outside of the building was a long table with several people dressed in either a white kosode with red hakama, or white kosode and blue hakama sitting behind them. A massive banner hung on the wall with 'new student registration' written on it. Rose headed towards the table.

"Good afternoon, how may I be of help?" asked a blond haired and rather good looking man in a blue uniform.

"Erm…I was asked to come here for orientation." Answered Rose rather awkwardly.

"OK…your name please."

"Rose Bentley."

The boy flicked through a large stack of papers. "Rose Bentley, it is marked here that you will be given a private tour of our facilities by Sekine Sensei. Your tour should start in a few minutes so could you please wait here."

"OK." Rose moved to the side in order to be out of the way.

"So you are entering the third year."

Rose turned around and saw that the blond haired boy was addressing her. "Yeah, my results in the entrance exam were supposedly so high that I was allowed to enter the third year."

The boy moved and sat on the table, facing her. "Wow you must be powerful if they let you skip three years. Oh how rude of me, my name is Kawano Kiyoshi, sixth year student."

"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Rose Bentley and I guess I'm a soon to be third year student."

"Rose Bentley, an astoundingly beautiful name for an astoundingly beautiful woman. Tell me do you live in the Seireitei?" Kiyoshi smiled at her.

Rose ignored his description of her beauty. She still did not like being referred to as 'beautiful Rose'. "Yes I do live in the Seireitei."

"Can I ask where in the Seireitei you live?"

"Now I think we are getting a little too personal, we have only just met." Rose smiled brightly at the boy. He was rather kind, talkative and a little too curious but kind nonetheless.

"My apologies Rose. People have said that I am far too curious for my own good." He smile genuinely. He really was good looking.

Rose was embarrassed to say that if she was not dating Shunsui then she could fall for the person I front of her. However, there was a certain air to him that screamed bad boy. Maybe it was the way he held himself, slouching ever so slightly, or from the way he looked at her like he could see into her soul.

"So tell me Kawano-kun-."

"-please call me Kiyoshi." He interrupted

Rose smiled. "Kiyoshi, could you please tell me about the classes? Which ones are the best and which teachers should I watch out for."

"I can't really tell you which class is the best as people have their own opinions. Personally I like the Zanjutsu classes but then you might like a totally different discipline. Hmm…not really sure about teachers. Tokaji sensei, the Soul Society history teacher, can be really hard if you do not complete your work on time and he is also really hard to impress. Matano, the Hakudo Sensei is slight insane because he will drive you into the ground and smile like he is enjoying it. And then there is Aibu, the zanjutsu sensei, he is a real hard arse but he will always value hard work. I guess that is everybody who is notably scary." Kiyoshe had put his hand under his chin and was looking up at the sky while talking

"They sound pretty terrifying." Said and unsure Rose

"Don't be scared they are all really nice deep down, deep, deep down. Ah here comes Sekine Sensei." Kiyoshi nodded his head towards a tall, slime, black haired woman wearing a white Kosode and grey hakama who was making her way across the courtyard. She was also carrying a black folder under her left arm

"So I take it that you are Rose Bentley." Said Sekine in a gentle voice. "Excellent, well my name is Sekine Haru and I am the Hoho instructor for the Shin'o academy. Could you please follow me as we will being your orientation now?"

Haru Sekine definitely looked like a runner, her tall body was that of an athlete. Rose started to walk away only to stop and bow towards Kiyoshi. "It was nice talking to you Kiyoshi."

Kiyoshi bowed. "It was nice talking to you beautiful Rose." Rose grimaced internally but smiled nonetheless. The last person to call her beautiful had been an old man who had bent her over a table and fucked her while she screamed in agony. It was understandable why she hated that name. But also it felt wrong to hear somebody other than Shunsui give her pet names. The boy was also good looking, but nothing could rival her lover in good looks according to her. Still it felt wrong to admit that she found somebody, over than her Shunsui, attractive. Guilt washed through her. Was she being unfaithful to Shunsui by feeling attracted to another man? No, even if she did find another man good looking she was still madly in love with her lover and nothing could stop that. She was just doing some innocent window shopping.

Sekine lead her inside the huge building, and into an enormous reception area. The floor was made of pale wood while the walls were painted a light shade of cream. At the back of the room was a long wooden table which Rose assumed was the reception desk. Red coloured sofas and chairs were scattered round the room. The whole décor reminded Rose of a Hotel reception. Sekine pointed towards one of the red sofas and sat down.

"I have here your timetable here that I want to go through it with you quickly before we move on to the tour of our facilities." She pulled out a sheet of A4 paper and handed it to Rose.

"Classes start at 9:00 am every day for you expect on Wednesday where they start at 10:00 am. Classes end normally at 18:00 however as you can see some classes go on well passed that time. The academy administration sent a letter to Kyoraku Taicho asking about your level of training. Your advanced abilities in Zanjutsu means that you will be placed in both the advanced and intermediate class for Zanjutsu. Kyoraku Taicho said that even through you have achieved Shikai you still lack some of the basic Kendo skills. That being the case you will use the advanced class to strengthen your shikai and the intermediate classes to improve your Kendo skills. Does that seem alright to you?" Rose nodded. "Alright then your Hakudo is at an intermediate level and so is your Hoho. Kyoraku Taicho did mention that he had started to teach you Hoho and that your skills are developing at a steady pace. With this being the case you have been put in the intermediate class."

That was true, Shunsui had been teaching her Hoho in their spare time as Rose had grown tired of not being able to move at an incredibly speed like he was able to. She knew the basics however the distance she could travel in one step was still rather small. It was frustrating to watch Shunsui disappear off into the distance, leaving her behind to run after him. No the worst part was when he would run just a hair's breadth behind her and moan about how slow she was going. It was Rose's dream to be able to catch up to him and overtake him. The look on his face had the potential to be very comical. At first Shunsui had been very unenthusiastic about teaching her Hoho as he did not like the idea of her running around the Seireitei unprotected. Rose had laughed and then pointed out that if she did know Hoho she could outrun all her potential attacks and get back to him safe and sound faster. He seemed to warm to the idea of teaching her Hoho after that. Their classes usually involved a one sided game of tag. Either Rose would have to run from Shunsui or she would have to chase after him. The training had started out innocent enough, until Shunsui told Rose how much it turned him on when she played hard to get. The training had then turned into a form of foreplay in which Rose would have to run away from Shunsui while he tried to capture her and have his 'wicked' way with her. The sex that followed was always phenomenal.

"Moving on." Sekine's voice brought Rose back to the present. Her mind had wondered off to the last time she and Shunsui had played one of their games. She should not let herself be distracted by those kinds of thoughts while she was here.

"Because your kido is not your greatest ability you have been placed in both the Intermediate and beginners class. Hopefully by the end of the year you will be able to drop the beginner's class. You are also in the advanced human world studies class because you remember everything from your past life. We were debating where or not to sign you up to this class, however, we decided to sign you up to them as it would enable you to learn what you already know but from a different perspective." Rose nodded her head. "Right well that seems to be all. Let's start with your tour." Sekine got to her foot and started to walk away at a brisk pace. Rose quickly jumped up and practically ran after her.

"You are one of the few students who will not be staying in the dorms. To prevent you from having to walk around all day carrying your books we have been assigned a locker where you can place your belongings in. These lockers are located down those stairs." She pointed towards the staircase. "The headmaster was also informed that you have acquired your own personal Zanpakuto. It is a rule that only Sixth year's students are allowed their own personal Zanpakuto. We cannot ask you to get rid of your Zanpakuto but we can ask you to leave it at home. You will only bring your Zanpakuto to the Academy when you have an advanced Zanjutsu classes. However, it will remain in its sealed form. Do I make myself clear?" Rose nodded. "Very well. Now I will show you the Dojo, the Kido training rooms and the outside fields. Please follow me as we have a lot to see in very little time." Sekine walked out of the Administrative building

* * *

><p>It was scorching hot in the assembly hall. The air seemed to suffocate Shunsui and with every breath he took his lungs would burn. The sun's ray were heating up the room to unbearable temperatures. To his right he could see the little outline of Toushiro who appeared to be gritting his teeth. The poor little ice boy must be suffering under such intense heat. In fact all Taichos seemed to be showing some form of discomfort. The only person enjoying the scorching temperature in the room was the Soutaicho. But then again he always enjoyed the heat. Sweat beaded and trickled down Shunsui's back while his clothes started to stick to him. This was torture. All he wanted to do was find a nice cold body of water, a lake maybe, and bath in it. He imagined how the cool water would wash away all the sweat on his back and chill his body in the most delightful may possible. And of course his darling Rose would be there to keep him company. She had looked so beautiful this morning in her purple Yukata and white sash. Her hair had flowed down her back and danced around her back. How he wanted to run his fingers through her soft tresses and inhale their heavenly scent. At the lake she would slowly remove her clothes before slipping in to the water, gasping ever so slightly at its coolness. He would follow her in soon after and hold her close to his body while the water danced around his waist. Her breast would be pressed against his chest and her bottom would be nestled in between his hands while he gently played with them. He would then bring her lips up to his and kiss her, slowly at first and then more deeply. She would taste of something sweet and would moan when his tongue invaded her mouth. Together they would stand in the lake, kissing passionately until over needs arose. Slowly he would lower his hand down to her southern lips and feel the wetness there. She would gaps when his fingers found her clit…<p>

"-SHUNSUI! Pay attention!" The Soutaicho's voice rang through Shunsui's head and dissolved the erotic images he had been conjuring up.

"Sorry Yama-jii." He replied with a chuckled. The Soutaicho glared at him before moving on.

"As I was saying there has been some unusual hollow activities in Karakura town. Several high level Hollows have been appearing and then disappearing almost instantly. There is also the issue of an unknown reiatsu appearing in Karakura town. We do not know much about this unknown reiatsu signature but we do know that it neither hollow, Shinigami or Quincy. The Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki and Kuchiki Rukia have not been able to track down this unknown being as it, just like all the hollows, keeps disappearing and reappearing."

"So it is safe to assume that the two are connected." Said Ukitake.

"That is hard to say as the hollows and the reiatsu keep reappearing at different spots and at different times. " Replied the Soutaicho.

"How strong is this unknown force?" Asked Kenpachi. He had been very quiet throughout the meeting until now.

"Most of the Hollows are of Adjuchas or Vasto Lorde level, while the unknown being seems to be at the level of a Taicho." Said the Soutaicho.

"That sounds like fun. I can't wait to go kill it!" exclaimed Kenpachi.

"You foul!" snapped Kurotsuchi. "You can't kill this being as you will be throwing away valuable research material."

"You just want that thing so you can dissect it." replied Kenpachi.

"Yes but can you imagine the information we could collect from this unknown being. I am surprised that an ignorant oaf such as yourself ever became a Taicho." Kurotsuchi stamped his foot on the ground. Shunsui tilted his hat down and sighed. Those two were at it again. It was always so dull to hear men argue over such petty things. Maybe if he tuned those two out he could get back to his previous fantasy. Now where was he…oh yes he was about to sink his fingers into his darling Rose's wet, luscious folds and pump his fingers in and out of her slowly, while hearing her gasp his na-.

"-Why don't you just head back to your laboratory Kurotsuchi and leave the fighting to real men." Cried out Kenpachi. Damn! Why did the two of them have to be so loud?

"SILENCE," boomed the Soutaicho while banging his cane on the ground. "I will have no more of this nonsense. Because of the gravity of the situation in Karakura town I will be sending a team of Taicho and their Fukutaichos to investigate the situation. However, because we do not have the resources to send a large team of Taicho to do the job I have requested help from the Vizards in Karakura town."

Shinji sighed. He did not like the idea of working with Hiyori again. She really was a piece of work. After the war with Aizen, the Visoreds had been offered back their previous positions as compensation for their unlawful banishment. Shinji, Kensei, Mashiro and Rojuro had all agreed to take back their positions which had been taken away from them. However, because the position of Fukutaicho of the ninth division was already occupied by Hisagi, Mashiro had taken over the role of chief editor for the Seireitei bulletin. The other Visoreds had decided to stay in Karakura town because they still held grudges against the Shinigami. The situation must be very critical if the Soutaicho had asked the Visoreds living in Karakura town for help.

"After some careful through I have decided to send two Taichos to Karakura town where they will work hand in hand with the Visoreds in order to investigate the unusual hollow activities and to capture the unknown reiatsu. We do not know what we are dealing with so it would be foolish to send in an extermination squad. Shunsui, your ability to judge characters will be useful for this mission so I am assigning you to lead it. You will be joined by Jushiro, and the Visoreds. You may take your Fukutaicho's with you for this mission." Said the Soutaicho. Damn! Thought Shunsui. He had only just gotten Rose back and now he was going to have to leave her while he went on a mission.

"How long will the mission last?" he asked, not really liking the fact that he had to leave Rose's side. Hopefully the mission will not last that long.

"Until sufficient data has been collected." Was all the Soutaicho said. Shunsui exhaled. This was not looking so good. "Consider this Taicho meeting over. Shunsui, Ukitake you will be sent to the world of the living in two days' time which should give you enough time to sort out the running of your division while you are absent."

Shunsui walked out of the room with his shoulder slouched forwards and his hat low over his eyes. He only had two days with his Rose until he was forced to leave her to go on this retched mission. Why was it that people kept trying to separate his love from him? Why was the world so cruel? He was finally happy with his life so why did people have to ruin it?

"Cheer up Shunsui. This mission could be other in a few days' time" Said Ukitake

Shunsui looked at his friend. "I know. I just don't want to leave Rose behind."

"You just don't like the idea of not being able to fuck your girlfriend. Hey don't worry Kyoraku maybe I will pay her a visit during your absence." Said a voice behind them.

Shunsui spun around and glared at Shinji. It was no secret that Shunsui was sleeping with a very beautiful girl and was thus the subject to many forms of teasing. He had become an easy target due to his over protectiveness of her.

"I don't know Shinji, maybe she wants a man with more…length." Stated Rojuro.

"Hey shut up Rojuro. I am perfectly capable of satisfying a woman in bed."

"That is not what I heard from the red headed bar maid in the Howling Hollow. Nah I think I stand a change of bedding Rose and making her feel completely satisfied.

Ukitake could see a vein starting to throb on his friend's forehead. Shunsui was never one to be angered by banter however if the banter involved Rose in any way it was guaranteed to piss him off. Ukitake placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and guided him away from Shinji and Rojuro. "Shunsui…ignore them. You know they are only doing this to get a rise out of you."

"I know I know." Snapped Shunsui a little too harshly. "I'm sorry Jushiro. It's just that when I hear them talking about Rose like that I get a little angry."

Ukitake nodded. "They are only doing that to get a rise out of you. You have become an easy target recently and I must say it is rather entertaining to watch the 'gentle' Taicho get very angry." The two of them walked out of the first division and started to head back to towards their respective divisions.

"Well I am glade that I am entertaining." Said Shunsui through gritted teeth.

"Come on Shunsui you need to relax a bit." It was rather funny that he now had to tell his friend to relax when it was normally vice-versa.

"How can I relax when I know that the moment I leave for my mission Shinji, Rojuro and god know who will try to sleep with Rose? She is mine!"

"Do you trust her?"

"Of course I do."

"Well then I don't see the trouble of leaving her behind while you are on your mission. She will not go around sleeping with people behind your back as she loves you." Said Jushiro in a kind manner.

"I trust her…I just don't trust the other men."

"Shunsui…they were only joking. Every man in the Seireitei knows that if they so much as put a finger on Rose then they will have to answer to you. Not many people have the guts to do that."

Shunsui sighed. "I'm sorry Jushiro…I just get so angry whe-."

"I know Shunsui. Now let's talk about something else shall we?"

"Alright." Although he had agreed to let the subject drop, Shunsui knew that it was far from over. The moment he got back to his house he was going to make love to Rose so hard that should would never be able to look at the bed (or where them ended up) without blushing. She belonged to him and nobody else. His fellow Taichos had lit a fire within him, a fire of jealous that could only be put out with several round of sex. He needed Rose right now, needed her hard and fast. Thank goodness she liked a little rough sex


	3. Chapter 3: Jealously

Chapter 3: Jealously

**Warning: A ridiculous amount of Lemon.**

* * *

><p>The tour of the Academy grounds had lasted a little over an hour. Sekine had shown Rose the huge, immaculately polished dojo where Hakudo and Zanjutsu classes were held. Then she showed the Kido rooms, which were also immaculately polished but unlike the dojo it had several targets located at one end of the room. There was also an outdoor court where the targets stood on huge wooden poles. Sekine had explained to Rose that the inside room was only used during winter then the weather was too bad for outdoors training. The lecture rooms had come after that and they resembled any ordinary lecture theatre. Lastly came the mess hall and the outdoor fields. The mess hall was located at the centre of the academy grounds and contained several large wooden tables and chairs. The outdoor fields were used for Hoho practise. By the time they had finished the tour, Rose was feeling a little bit overwhelmed and was thankful to be able to leave the rather imposing Academy. She had never been nervous when starting out at a new school, but the Shin'o academy was another issue altogether. Not only were the building imposing, but so where the people. It was also rather intimidating going to a school whose primary function was to teach its students how to fight off evil spirits. Rose was a pacifist and thus her undesired to kill anybody reflected in her Zanpakuto's ability. Midnight Dancer would only put her opponents into a deep sleep and then allow Rose the option to enter their dream world. Her Zanpakuto was not a combat nor a healing type which made her wonder how she was going to fit into a school in which people were taught in the arts of fighting. Maybe Shunsui would be able to calm her nerves when she got back to his quarters.<p>

Before leaving the academy Sekine took Rose aside and went over the rules one last time, especially the one about keeping her relationship a secret.

"Only the teachers and the headmaster know about your relationship. You must understand that if the students find out that you are seeing someone from the Gotei 13, and a Taicho nonetheless, then they will complain. It is against the rules for an academy student to have a relationship with someone in the Gotei 13, however you are the exception to this rule as you were seeing him before you joined the academy. If they find out, the students will think that you are getting and unfair advantage and will most likely complain. We do not want to separate you from your lover however we will do it if we learn that you spilled the beans. Moreover, because you are technically a member of the Eighth division, Kyoraku Taicho will be sent regular updates of your progress from the Headmaster. Am I making myself clear?"

After that Sekine and bid Rose farewell and left her at the gates to the Academy. Although, not before reminding her that classes started the following day and that she had better be on time for her first class. There was a strict policy that if a student was late or failed to turn up to a class three times in a row then they were sent to the headmaster. Not that being sent to the headmaster scared Rose. During her time at the Henderson Ladies Finishing School (the high school she had been sent be before going to University) she was sent numerous times to the headmaster. But that is another story. However, it did anger Rose slightly to think that Shunsui was going to be receiving regular updates on her performance at the Academy. She was his lover and not his daughter for crying out loud!

She walked passed the guards outside the eighth division main gate and headed in the direction of Shunsui's house. There was no point going to the office as he would have most likely headed straight home after his meeting. Rose pulled out her key to Shunsui's quarters and opened the front door. It was weird because even thought she had been living in his house for a few weeks she never found herself calling it 'home'. Maybe it was because she had not spent enough time in it to call it home. After changing out of her yukata and into a pair of comfy light blue sweats and a plain white t-shirt, she entered the kitchen. Shunsui had made some changes to the kitchen during the time they had been separated. Firstly he had installed a huge, modern oven which would have made any baker orgasm on sight. He had also bought tones of baking equipment for Rose, including a proving cupboard. It was a baker's heaven and she loved it. Simply staring at the wonderful oven made Rose want to bake something jut to be able to use it. The next thing she knew was that she had walked towards the oven, turned it on, and had started to pull out ingredient for blueberry muffins. It did not take long for a batch of blueberry muffins to be baking in the oven and while waiting for them to cook Rose sat on the counter, flicking through her recipe book trying to work out if she should bake a desert for that evening. It was the end of summer so she could bake a lemon meringue pie but then again Shunsui did not like to eat lemons in a desert…mainly because it clashed with the sweet sake he was always drinking. He had kept his promise to her about not over drinking and as a result he only had few cups of sake a day, and a few more at the weekends. Although Rose never minded when he got drunk. Drunk Shunsui was one of the sweetest, funniest persons she had ever met. But it was the excessively drunk, passed out Shunsui that she hated to see.

A loud bing from the oven signalled to Rose that the muffins were done. She slipped on her bright pink oven gloves (this is Shunsui's kitchen) and opened the oven. Two dozen, gold coloured muffins sat in the oven, looking as delicious as ever. Rose had been so absorbed with getting the muffins out of the oven that she had not heard the front door opening and closing or the sound of heavy footsteps approaching her

A hand grabbed her around the waist making her gasp. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you." Growled Shunsui while yanked her hips closer to his.

"Oh Shunsui you scared me." Gasped Rose while she tried to get her breathing under control. His sneaking up and grinding on her was not healthy for her heart. It thumped loudly in her chest while it pumped her blood round her body.

"I have been thinking about you all day. You on the bed, under me screaming in pleasure while I drive into you again and again." Growled Shunsui while he trusted his hardening member into her backside. Rose started to pant as sharp bursts of pleasure shot up her spine. He pulled her harder against his now rock solid member causing the two of them to moan in pleasure.

"Do you know how desirable you are?" Questioned Shunsui while grinding with added vigour into her backside. "So many people want you. But they can't have you because you are mine." He hissed before latching onto her exposed neck. Rose groaned at the contact. Everything was becoming too hot and she could feel sweat beading on her back. She was becoming more and more aware of his hands on her hips, his member grinding on her backside and his lips on her neck. It was sensory overload. At first she had been confused as to why Shunsui was acting the way he was and although it had deeply aroused her she had also been a bit scared. The way his hips were ferociously grinding into her and the animalistic tone he was speaking in heated her blood to boiling point. There was only one explanation as to why he was acting like this: he was jealous. It was laughable to think that one of the most confident Taicho's in the Gotei 13 was unsure of his standings with his woman. But then he was a man and any man had the potential to be prone to jealousy.

Rose wondered, on some sadistic level, how jealous she could make her man and how wild she could turn him. There was only one thing to do. "I know how desirable I am…in fact there is this one boy at the academy…" she left her voice trail off to add suspense to the words she had just said. Shunsui reacted exactly like she thought he would. His grinding hips stopped, along with his lips, while his hands on her waist began to dig into her waist.

"Who is this boy?" He growled harshly into her ear.

"Oh just some handsome boy I met at the academy. I would say that you have some competition." Rose started to laugh only to be cut off but a guttural growl from behind her. The next thing she knew was the Shunsui had spun her around and had started to kiss her like never before. His lips were demanding, passionate, desperate, angry, wild and violent. He used both his tongue and his teeth to nip and lick any part of her mouth. Rose could feel her knees becoming weaker as his kiss was taking her breath away. Shunsui had felt something deep inside of him snap when he heard Rose talk about this boy, this pup that was his potential rival. Nobody was going to take his woman away from him as she belonged to him. Deep down he knew that Rose was only teasing him, but still it drove him insane to hear her talk about another man. Fine, his girl was going to tease him, well he was just going to had to play with her and show her just how superior he was to all men. He yanked his lips of Rose's and spun her around until she was pressed yet again to his front with her backside flush against his member.

"So you say that I have competition." He growled wildly into her hear while his hand moved down from her waist and dipped into her underwear. "Well then I better start showing just how superior I am to all men." His fingers came in contact with her clit and he was happy to note that it, along with the rest of her sex, was dripping. "Hmm you are so wet. See Rose, see how wet you are for me." He began to slowly tease her clit, causing Rose to writher in his arms

"Oh please Shunsui." she moaned. Her hands shot out and grabbed the edge of the counter in order to steady herself as waves of pleasure crashed upon her. It felt so deliciously naughty to be taken in the kitchen with her clothes still on.

"Could this boy do this?" growled Shunsui before plunging his fingers into her dripping core.

"No. No…oh Shunsui…oh yes right there." Moaned Rose. The feeling of his fingers deep inside of her along with his hips grinding against her backside was making her wetter and wetter by the minute. Slowly he removed his fingers from her warmth only to plunge them back into her at an equally slow pace. Rose was starting to pant, her hands clawing at the counter top while trying to find something to hold onto.

"Do you have any idea how desirable you are? I spent the entire meeting thinking about you. You, underneath me, screaming my name. And then I come back only to discover that you have been thinking about this other boy, this little punk. Do you not love me Rose?" His finger were slowly torturing her. The pleasure was intense but just not enough to throw her over the edge. She could not think straight. She wanted-wanted-wanted GAH!

"Please." She moaned. "Please harder."

Shunsui only grinned down at her. "No. I am rather enjoying having you grinding up against me."

Rose moaned after a rather delicious stroke from his fingers left her panting. She was so close and yet her bastard lover was not letting her come. Well if he was going to play dirty then so would she. Rose moved her hand behind her back to the place where Shunsui was grinding into her and started to massage and cup his balls through his clothes. The effect was instantaneous. Shunsui groaned loudly and started to thrust his hips more violently into her and her hands.

"I know what you're doing." He growled into her ear. Her, fighting back with her hands was turning his on big time. He started to plunge his fingers more forcefully into Rose's core making her cry out in pleasured agony. But she would not give in, her pride would not let her. She started to work her fingers hard, and faster on Shunsui's member and balls.

"Fuck!" cursed Shunsui after a particularly delicious stroke from his lover. He was not going to last much longer. He pulled out his thrusting finger and pinched Rose clit hard…maybe a little too hard.

Rose screamed loudly as her body started to convulse in a quick and intense orgasm. Over and over she felt her muscles contract as pleasure rushed through her. Shunsui could feel her juices rushing out of her body and splattering across his hand and her panties. But he never stopped. His fingers continued to pump and pinch her core while she screamed in his arms. Shunsui wanted to show to her that, not only had he won their little game, but that he was superior to males and that nobody could take her away from him. Rose could feel her legs going weak as yet another orgasm wreaked through her. She could feel her growing wetness between her legs as her panties were absolutely soaked, but that only heightened her arousal.

"So could your little pup do that Rose? Can he give you multiple orgasms with just his fingers?" Hissed Shunsui through gritted teeth.

"No." wailed Rose. "No you are the only one. Please, please, please, PLEASE AHHH!" Screamed Rose loudly as her body convulsed again as her orgasm tore through her. She was going to die. Die from all the pleasure coursing through her.

Shunsui removed his drenched fingers and gently kissed Rose on the neck. "It's ok Rose shhh." He whispered while trying to sooth the shaking woman in his arms. Rose could feel her legs shaking but she did not care. Right now she could feel Shunsui's hardness pressing into her backside which only added fuel to the fire of desire inside of her. Her body ached, but she ached for him and his member more. Three orgasms may have been enough to turn her legs into jelly, but it was simply not enough to dampen the fire of desire inside of her.

"There is only you." Panted Rose while trying to regain her thoughts.

Shunsui turned her around and then lifted her up onto the counter. "Do you know how aroused I am by you?" He groaned. He was so hard that he felt like he was going to explode at any moment. Staring down at her, with her eyes clouded from arousal made it hard for him to not fuck her over and over again.

"No," teased Rose. She had been turned into a creature of lust with the desire to be filled by her lover's member over and over again. She wanted, no needed to be fucked until she could not walk. Seeing Shunsui staring down at her with dark, lustful eyes turned her on so much.

"Oh?" replied Shunsui. He yanked her legs open and stepped in between them. Rose gasped when she felt his hard member press into her. She wanted him so much. "I think you know how much I want you and are just playing dumb to tease me. You teasing me makes me so mad I might just do something incredibly sinful."

"Oh like?"

"Like fucking you so hard that you cannot walk tomorrow."

Rose leant back and looked up into his eyes. "Then fuck me Shunsui. Fuck me hard." She watched as his face darkened with desire.

"Oh I will fuck you…but not now. Right now I want to pay special to your breasts." Rose gasped when she felt Shunsui yank her t-shirt down, tearing the collar, and pull out her breasts. She could feel her core becoming wetter and wetter. Her sweat pants were getting stained in her juices but she was too aroused to care. Shunsui grabbed her shoulders and pulled her chest towards his mouth. His lips closed around one of her round pink nibbles and started to suckle and bite…hard. Rose wailed and cried out, her breasts singing in pleasure. While one of them was getting the attention of his lips, the other was being expertly massaged. But like before she was not going to let herself be dominated by him, and she also believed that some retribution was in place. Her hand descended down his chest, over his taunt stomach muscles and down into his hakama. Shunsui stiffened when he felt Rose's hand wrap around his hard member.

"Rose." He moaned as she started to pump him hard and fast. Rose felt rather restricted with his hakama in the way so with her free hand she undid his sash and pulled them down. Shunsui groaned when his member sprang free. He was so hard and aroused that his lover's hand were going to finish him.

"Rose." He groaned again. He could feel his balls begin to tense. He was going to come. Rose could feel his steel hard member tense which signalled his imminent release. As quick as a flash she had pushed her lover away from her, jumped off the counter and got down on her knees. Shunsui could only watch has his painfully hard member disappeared into Rose's mouth. Her mouth was hot, wet and possibly one of the most pleasurable places in the Soul Society. Rose only needed a few devilish licks and hard sucks to get her lover on the verge of completion. With one last delicious lick from her tongue Shunsui threw his head back and cried out as wave after waved of pleasure crashed over him. He could feel his member pulsating, shooting hot, wet juice into his lover's mouth. Rose moaned when she felt hot liquid spray across her tongue. The pleasure was intense that it sucked the breath straight out of Shunsui's lungs.

Rose released her lover's member and got to her feet, trying to ignore how weak they felt. But she still wanted him, needed him to finish her. To drive into her until she could not form a coherent thought in her brain. She looked up into her lover's eyes and smiled when she saw how dark with lust they were. It seemed like he was thinking the same thing.

Shunsui reached out and removed the now destroyed t-shirt off Rose's body and dropped it to the ground. Next came her sweat pants and soon she was standing in front of him wearing nothing but her bra and panties. In the past Rose used to try and cover herself whenever Shunsui stripped her down to her underwear. But now she stood proudly, with her panties on display. Plus it had gotten a bit futile to hide her underwear as he had seen every pair she had already. Rose was glade to announce that she was wearing one of Shunsui's favourite pair. She wore a delightful white lace bra with matching panties that barely covered her rear.

"Oh how beautiful you look." Smiled Shunsui while staring down at her. She always looked good in anything, but her in his second favourite pair of underwear was breath taking.

"Shunsui," moaned Rose. Their recent activities had left her rather wanting. She was burning up inside and dying for release that only he could give her.

"What?" He inquired. Rose looked up and him and started to rub her knees together in the hopes of alleviating her need.

"Oh" Shunsui said in understanding.

"Please Shunsui…I need you." Pleased Rose. She wanted, needed release.

"Tell me what you want"

"You…I need you. Please, please fuck me." She started to pant. Shunsui smiled. His ego was definitely getting a major boosts watching he beg for him.

He walked forward, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and started to march towards his room. "There is something I want to do to you before I fuck you." He stated. He could feel his member begin to harden.

"Oh please just take me." If Rose was going to have to wait a second longer she was going to scream

Shunsui opened the door to his room and deposited Rose down, with her back on the bed. While she squired around on the sheets, trying to alleviate the need within her, Shunsui started to remove what was left of his clothing. The next time he looked down at Rose he saw that she had removed her bra and panties and was playing with her clit, moaning with every stroke of her fingers. The sight was beautiful and erotic but Shunsui had other, more important things to do.

Rose looked down between her legs. "Please Shunsui. I-I need."

"I know." He grabbed her waist and pulled her down to the edge of the bed. "This is going to be intense."

"I don't care. I just need-AHHH!" cried out Rose as Shunsui thrusted his fingers inside of her dripping core while at the same time pressing down on her clit. She came almost instantly. Her muscles started to contract rapidly around Shunsui's finger, but he still continued to pump into her. Rose was screaming, thrashing while her lover brought wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure out of her. She could feel the sheet underneath her becoming wetter and wetter but she really did not care. Nothing mattered anymore apart from the pleasure she was experiencing. Just as one orgasm started to end another started to build. Over and over Shunsui made her orgasm, while she screamed loudly in pleasure.

Just as Rose thought she was going to pass out Shunsui stopped his thrusting fingers. She lay on the bed, panting, gasping for breath while trying to re-collect her thoughts. The experience had been intense and if she was to be honest with herself…wetter.

"Rose?" Shunsui's voice sounded rather distant and slightly concerned. Slowly she opened her eyes 8when had she closed them?) and stared down between her outstretched legs. What she saw made her gasp. There was Shunsui sitting back on his knees with his chest covered in her juices. Her thighs and the bed sheet were also soaked with her essence. What…what had he done?"

"Shunsui…i-I'm sorry." Panted Rose with a blush on her face. What had she done?

Shunsui smiled. "No need to say sorry Rose, this was exactly what I wanted to happen. And can I say it was one of the most erotic things I have ever seen."

"What…explain?" She sat up on the bed and stared down at him. To her utter horror she saw that her juices had also pooled in his lap.

"Watching you squirt has been one of my many fantasies. Along with you in a school girl outfit, academy uniform, on my desk, in a hot spring and, probably my most favourite, you tying me down and having your evil way with me." He winked at her salaciously.

Rose blushed. "But I made you so…wet."

Shunsui laughed. "It's only fair that you get to squirt at me as I do it all the time to you. But more importantly did you enjoy it?"

Rose blushed an even deeper shade of red. She had enjoyed it and enjoyed it very much. But she was still mortified by the fact that she had sprayed her juices everywhere. "Yes." She whispered very quietly."

"Well then there is nothing to be ashamed about. And now onto more important things…watching you squirt all over me has made me rather…wanting." He pushed her gently down onto her back before climbing over her. Rose's body ached but she was still burning up inside. Where did all this arousal and desire come from?

"No time for foreplay darling." Whispered Shunsui before sinking into her warm, wet folds. Rose cried out in both pain and pleasure as her core was feeling rather sore. His large length stretched her deliciously while he entered, stopping only when he was fully sheathed inside.

"Hmm Shunsui." mumbled Rose as the feeling of being completely full sent tingles up her back. He started off slowly but then he started to increase the pace until he was pounding her into the mattress. The bed creaked under the force of his thrusts but the sound was barely heard over Rose screams of absolute pleasure. Shunsui wrapped his arms underneath her back and gripped her shoulders, pulling her down whenever he trusted in. Rose howled as the intensity and strength of his thrust increased. She had never felt such delicious pleasure running through her body before. The pace was hard, fast and absolutely, utterly pleasurable. She was stuck, trapped underneath her lover's massive body and the mattress, unable to move. Shunsui was losing control of himself as he drove into his screaming lover again and again like a wild animal. All there was, was the need to achieve the ultimate pleasure. The bed was creaking, his Rose was screaming but it all did not matter to him as he drove the two of them to orgasm. He was an animal, a beast of lust with the only motive of pounding into his woman. For a moment he had been concerned that the strength of his thrusting was hurting Rose, however, her constant screaming was making him believe that she was actually enjoying it.

"Sh-AHH, SHUNSUI I-AHHH." screamed Rose as an intense orgasm overtook her. Her muscles started to spasm uncontrollably around Shunsui member as it begged him to release his sperm into her. However, he had no intensions of finishing or slowing down so he continued to pound into his lover while gritting his teeth against the intense pleasure he was experiencing. Underneath him Rose was thrashing about, screaming her release.

"Please Shunsui I-I AHHH." Screamed Rose again. She wanted to tell him to stop, to slow down as she feared the pace he was setting was going to kill her. But she never managed to tell him as another orgasm ran through her. Tears started to pool in her eyes as the intensity of the orgasm was almost too much for her. She was conflicted, did she want him to stop the incredible pleasure running through her? Shunsui kissed her tears away before planting his lips on her neck. He was going to claim her and show the whole Soul Society that she was his. Rose whimpered and grabbed a fistful of his hair in her hands. With every delicious wave of pleasure she would tug on his hair, which only resulted in heightening his own pleasure. But of course not everything is forever.

"You are mine Rose." Growled Shunsui. He could feel the end coming. "Say it." He hissed before giving her a rather hard bite on the neck.

Rose screamed. "I-I am yours SHUNSUI" Her last orgasm erupted inside of her with such intensity that her world went black.

Shunsui shouted loudly as his release overcame him and with one last final thrust he exploded inside of Rose. Wave after wave of exhausting release and pleasure ran through him. With a satisfied sigh he pulled out of his lover and collapsed onto his back, completely exhausted. That was intense.

After a few seconds, Rose regained consciousness and rolled over to place her head on Shunsui's chest. Both of them lay in the rather messy bed with tangled sheets around them enjoying the boneless feeling that came after having a round of intense sex. Shunsui felt exhausted, but that was nothing compared to Rose, who, after having numerous orgasm, felt completely wreaked. All she wanted to do was sleep. It felt like hours later when Shunsui rolled over, kissed Rose on the lips lightly and climbed out of bed. She growled angrily at losing her comfy pillow.

"Rose you need to get up and eat something and take a shower." Said Shunsui. He started down at the boneless mass on his bed and frowned. Had he pushed her too far with the numerous orgasms he had given her? The boneless mass on the bed groaned and rolled over. Shunsui had to admit, post sex Rose was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen. Her skin glowed with sweat and her hair was all mushed up in the most adorable way. His eyes fell upon the large love bite on her neck and smiled. The bite was huge and very visible on her neck. Shunsui felt satisfied that he had been able to mark his territory. The bite clearly stated 'this woman belongs to somebody'.

"Hmm Shunsui come back to bed." The boneless mass speaks!

Shunsui leaned over Rose and kissed her cheek lovingly. "Sorry darling but we cannot spend the entire afternoon in bed. Come I will run us a bath and then make us something to eat."

"Hmm but I don't want to move." Mumbled Rose. "Sleep" she rolled over onto her stomach and did not move.

Shunsui shook his head before bending down and picking her up. "Bath time."

"No." moaned Rose.

It did not take long to fill the bathtub with hot, bubbly water which smelt like lavender. While waiting for the bath to fill Shunsui gently washed Rose's body with a wash cloth, making sure to be extra delicate around her sore areas. When she was done he quickly washed himself before picking her up and depositing her in the warm bath water.

"Fuck!" Shouted Rose when her core touched the water. She was so sore and the water burnt the inside of her thighs.

"Careful Darling." Said Shunsui while he climbed in behind her. "How are you?" he then asked in a more concerned voice.

"Sore, weak, relaxed, angry…I don't know, my mind I still rather fuzzy after all that sex." She huffed."

"How sore?"

Rose turned around and glared at Shunsui. "Very."

"Oh come on darling you can't be that mad at me. Here." Shunsui lifted up his hands and started to massage Rose's back. Rose growled in anger as the wonderful sensation of his hands on her back made all her anger towards him disappear. He knew how to calm her down and it frustrated her. Why did her body react like this?!

"Better?" asked Shunsui after a while.

"Hmm" sighed Rose.

"Food then bed?"

"Sure…sounds nice." Yawned Rose.

"When do you have to be up tomorrow for your first class?"

"My first class is at 9:00 so I guess I should leave at 8:15."

"Nonsense. I will shunpo you there."

Rose started at Shunsui in shock. Was her lazy, never awake before midday lover going to wake up and take her to the academy? "Erm…"

Shunsui chuckled. "I will do anything for you. Plus I want to see the look on Nanao's face when she sees me in walking into the office at such an early hour. I don't think I have ever been into the office so early before."

"You should go into the office early because that is when your job starts not because you want to tease your subordinates."

"But where is the fun in that." Replied Shunsui while climbing out of the bathtub and extending a hand out to Rose.

"Does everything have to be a laugh for you?"

"Yes, otherwise life is no fun."

"Am I a joke to you?" questioned Rose.

Shunsui bent down and kissed her on the lips. "Never. Now come on let's go eat something nice and yummy for dinner." He kissed her one last time before leave the bathroom (although not before he put on a bathrobe).

Rose watched him go before moving towards the bathroom mirror. Her hair must be in a mess from their afternoon round of sex. However, when she looked in the mirror it was not the unruly mass of hair on her head that mad her scream indignantly, but the huge, red love bite on her neck. It was huge and in a very visible place. Shunsui, that, that…IDIOT!

"SHUNSUI YOU BASTARD." Shouted Rose in rage. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I WILL KILL YOU!"

In the kitchen Shunsui swallowed as he heard the angry footsteps march towards him. Rose was going to kill him…thank goodness she would have to get past him to reach the kitchen knives.

* * *

><p><strong>I think I might have gone a little overboard with the lemon in this chapter...<strong>

**Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. :) **


	4. Chapter 4: Frustrating Man

Chapter 4: Frustrating Man

Damn that Shunsui! Damn him to the deepest darkest part of hell! Rose was so angry that she could strangle him. What possessed him to put that-that thing on her neck the night before? She lifted her hand and touched the area where Shunsui had given her a love bite. It was in a horribly visual place on her neck. And the worst part was that she could not cover it up. Her incredibly stupid lover had been so jealous the night before that he had decided to claim her. It was so stupid because she was not allowed to have a lover outside the academy and her love bite only just confirmed that she had one.

"Rose there is no need to be angry." Called the idiot in question while he walked behind her.

"GO to hell!" Rose turned around and yelled at Shunsui. Thank goodness the streets within the eighth division were deserted otherwise they might have caused a huge scene.

Rose had been so angry at Shunsui after discovering the love bite he had given her on the neck. In fact that very night she had refused to speak to him.

_The previous night_

_The old sheets were stripped off the bed and replaced with a new silk set. Rose pulled on her dark blue pyjamas and climbed into bed, sighing contently as she was enveloped in the warm, softness of the sheets. She could hear Shunsui in the bathroom brushing his teeth. She was so angry at him for the time being that she was going to deny him sex for the evening, although considering the way they had behaved earlier on it was surprising that either of them still had the energy left to have another round. But then this was Shunsui was talking about. The man had more stamina then was really necessary. Gently, she ran her hand up and down the love bite on her neck which was pulsing rhythmically with her heart beat. How on earth was she going to hide it from the other students tomorrow? A love bite meant that she had a lover and as she was new to the academy it was logical to think that he lover was not a student there. People would get unnecessarily interested in her which might lead to her secret being revealed. How the hell could Shunsui not think of this before giving her a love bite?! _

_Rose sighed and rather violently switched her bedside table light off. She was not going to speak to Shunsui until he had apologised profusely on his knees. Dinner had been a rather quiet affair as she had been too angry to speak. Rose had sat their glaring at Shunsui while he looked back at her with a rather pleased and smug look on his face. He was happy that he had successfully marked his territory so that all the 'little boys' at the academy knew that she was taken. Men could be so stupid and immature sometimes. _

_She felt the dip on the bed as her stupid lover climbed into the bed and shuffled over to where she was curled up. His arm reached for her waist, but he froze when he felt the edges of her pyjama bottoms. Rose could feel Shunsui warm breath tickle her neck hairs as he exhaled._

"_Are you really that mad at me?" he asked. Rose did not answer and buried herself further into the pillows. "Really? Now you are not talking to me?" continued Shunsui while nuzzling her neck affectionately in the hopes of coaxing her into responding to him. _

"_Go away." Hissed Rose while trying to swat him away._

_Shunsui grabbed her flaying hands and kissed them affectionately. "Never". _

"_I'm serious Shunsui I am not in the mood for anything so please leave me alone." She snapped._

_He paused for a moment. "Wow you really are angry."_

"_I wonder what gave it away." Replied Rose rather sarcastically. _

_Shunsui leaned forwards and licked the shell of her ear. "I know what will make you less angry at me." He whispered wickedly in her ear. It was at that moment did Rose realise that he, unlike her, was naked under the sheets. Damn it, he knew exactly what to do and say to make her less angry at him! No she was not going to be distracted this time. She had told herself that she was going to deny him sex, so deny him sex was what she was going to do. Rose needed to be forceful with him in order for him to understand that she was not happy. Even the cutest of puppies needed to be disciplined. _

"_Shunsui…get off me." She hissed. _

_Shunsui paused in his ministration. "And now you are denying me sex. Are you really that angry because I gave you a love bite on the neck?" _

_Rose rolled over and glared at him. "NO SHIT!" She cried out. "I mean how stupid can you be to give me a love bite the night before I head of to the academy. People are going to start asking question when the new girl, who supposedly knows nobody in the academy, turns up with a love bite on her neck. The only possible explanation for that is that she has a lover outside the academy! People are going to start asking question! How can you be so reckless?!" She was so angry at him and it felt so good to get all her frustration out. _

_Shunsui started at her, infatuated by the beautiful sigh in front of him. Rose's eyes shone like sapphires while her face turned a delightful shade of red. She was beautiful when angry. _

"_Now if you don't mind I am going to bed as I have to be up early in the morning for the academy. You will not touch me during the night nor will you make any attempts to touchme otherwise you will be most displeased." She snapped at him before rolling over and exhaling deeply into the pillow. Shunsui stared at her for a moment before sighing. Looks like he was not going to be getting any more sex tonight. He rolled over onto his side of the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe tomorrow his Rose would not be so angry at him and he could persuade her into a quick round of morning sex before she left to the academy. _

_He looked over at her curled up form. She was lying with her back to him like a tiny little cat. She was really cute when angered. "Good night darling Rose." He said and smiled while she growled ever so slightly. Oh yes he loved angry Rose. _

_End of flashback_

The very next day Rose had woken up and discovered that during the night she had rolled over and practically climbed into Shunsui's sleeping. Her arms had been tightly locked around his chest while her face had been buried into his hair. Of course Shunsui had had to wake up and discover that she had not been able to stay away from him during the night. For the entirety of breakfast he had teased her mercilessly about her being unable to manage without his masculine body for one night. And even though she had told him to not touch her, she had come crawling back to him in the middle of the night. Rose had of course been rather angered by this and had proceeded to throw her breakfast at him. Shunsui had of course dodged the flying projectile and then laughed, claiming that his darling Rose's table manner had not improved much since they had met and that he might need to start giving her children cutlery and plates. This had not gone down well for Rose, who had then stormed out of the house in a rather spectacular display of anger. Shunsui had of course followed her. And thus the two of them could be seen in marching through the streets of the eighth division, one of them shouting while the other laughing.

When they reached the more crowded streets in the shopping district, nobody paid them much attention, which was good considering that Rose was ready to tear the head of anybody who came up to her. Her Academy uniform did nothing to cover her love bite so she had to wear a scarf around her neck. It was that first day of the academy and she was already breaking the rules.

"Come on Rose."

"GO TO HELL." She shouted at him. A few heads turned to look at them.

"Do you really mean that darling Rose?" Asked Shunsui while increasing the length of his strides so that he could walk next to his fiery lover.

"Yes of course I do! I mean how could you be so stupid to do put something like that on my neck the day before I start going to the academy?" She hissed.

"What you're still angry about that?" Rose saw red and turned around, hand raised, with the intension of slapping her idiot lover. Shunsui saw exactly what she was going to do and so move his hand up to catch hers.

"Now, now that was not very nice." He scolded. Rose started hissing and spitting, trying to yank her hand out of his grip. Shunsui sighed and easily started to drag her down a dark and deserted alleyway, the exact same one he had dragged her down the day before.

"What the hell are you going? Let go of me!" cried out Rose while she struggled to pull her hand free. "This is really not funny, let g-." Her voice was cut off when Shunsui pulled her close to his body and kissed her lips deeply. He could feel his frustrated lover push against him at first, but when he unleashed his tongue she melted against him. Rose hated the effect he had on her body as all the anger she felt towards started to flow away. He knew how to wind her up and calm her down. Damn that man! He knew he had this effect on her and he would always exploit it.

"I'm sorry I made you so angry." He said when the two of them pulled apart, panting slightly.

"Why would you do something so reckless…do…do you want people to find out about us? I mean the way you acted last night makes me believe that you want to sabotage our relationship." Rose looked down at the ground and exhaled. She never minded when he gave her love bites (so long as they were not in really visible places), but this time he deliberately put one on her neck when he knew that it would raise question…did their love mean so little to him? And that was what made her so angry…she questioned his motive behind the bite and came to the conclusion that he was willing to risk everything because to him everything meant very little.

Shunsui gently lifted Rose's chin up until she was looking straight into his eyes. "You believe that I want to sabotage our relationship?" She nodded causing him to sigh. "You mean everything to me Rose and I would never do anything to sabotage our relationship. I love you."

"Then why would you do something so reckless?"

Shunsui looked a little sheepish for a moment. "You are jealous?" Questioned Rose, a little shocked that he would even feel jealous. Of course she had wanted him to feel jealous last night…but not to the point where he acted the way he had.

"As hard as it is to believe Rose I can also feel jealousy."

"But what do you have to feel jealous about?"

"You have no idea how desirable you are. Men…punks, everybody wants to get their hands on you. I just felt the need to…to…claim you and show the world that you belong to me." Rose did not know how to react to him words. He had been so jealous that he had felt the need to claim her. Her heart started to beat erratically at the idea that she was his. She belonged to him.

She pulled his into a hug. "I only want you Shunsui." she mumbled into his chest

"I just think you deserve somebody better than me." His arms wrapped around her body tightly, pulling her close to him.

"I don't want anybody else. You are perfect for me so stop thinking for a second that I deserve somebody better…because there is nobody else." Rose stood on her tiptoes and kissed Shunsui lips lovingly. "No man…or punk has anything that you do not have. I love you Shunsui."

"I love you to." The two kissed again, longer and more passionately. It seemed like the alleyway they were standing in had the effect of making the two of them want to kiss each other senseless and then make sweet, sweet love.

"I love you so much Rose that it hurts me to have to let you go…eventhough I know that you are going to come back to me in the evening it still pains me that I won't see you all day." Shunsui rested his forehead against Rose's while panting hard.

"Same here. We have spent so much time together that it feels weird to know that I will hardly see you at all today. But remember that I love you…and that when I get back this evening you can make sweet love to an academy student which I know is one of your any fantasies." Rose smiled wickedly.

"Just seeing you in your uniform is making me hard. I might just make love to you up against the wall right now." Shunsui was staring at her with eyes full of lust.

Rose gasped. "We can't Shunsui…I will be late for the academy."

"Screw the academy.

"But I can't be late on the first day."

Shunsui sighed. "This is the second time in the same day that you have refused to have sex with me." He pouted.

"That's only because you want to have sex with me at the most inconvenient times."

"When you get back this evening I am going make love to you repeatedly." His voice was just like silk on her skin: soft, arousing and full of sinful promises.

"I'll look forward to that…but for the moment you will just have to do with the image of me in my uniform." Rose smiled widely.

Shunsui bend down and kissed her cheek. "And how beautiful you look in it." He licked the shell of her ear before kissing her lips deeply again.

"I need to speak with you tonight." Said Shunsui after the two of them broke apart again. A serious look flashed across his face. Whatever he had to say was most likely important. "But before that go off and enjoy your first day at the academy. I will be waiting for you back in the Eighth." He bent down and kissed her on the lips.

"Well I guess I'm see you later then." Replied Rose before kissing him again. "I love you even though you make me angry."

"And I love you…especially when you are angry. You sort of puff up and walk about in the most adorable way ever." Teased Shunsui with a smile on his face. He watched as anger flashed across his love's face. Oh yes she really was adorable when angered.

"Shunsui." hissed Rose.

"Oh look at the time. I really must rush." He smile before shunpooing off leaving a frustrated Rose behind. Now she was going to be so frustrated by the time she returned to him in the afternoon. Teach her a lesson for denying him sex the previous night…

"SHUNSUI!" shouted Rose. That-that….grrr! She stamped her foot on the ground. That man, that frustrating man! She took a moment to collect herself before walking out of the alleyway and down the street in the direction of the Academy. To be honest, she did not really know what to expect at the academy. She had always imagined it to be a bit like school, as in there were specific classes she had to attend and that she would be treated like a mindless sheep. Rose had not wanted to go to the academy to begin with, having hoped that Shunsui would teach her everything that she needed to know. But sadly she had been wrong. Apparently nowadays people needed some form of academy graduation in order to swing a sword at a hollow.

Rose rounded a corner and walked under the large gates leading towards the academy. Her first class was the study of the history of the Gotei 13. As a diehard historian, Rose was most excited about this class. Shunsui had given her a brief history of on the formation of the Gotei 13 a few days ago, but sadly it was only brief and did not fulfil her hunger for information. Several students were standing around in the corridors, talking, but none of them paid Rose any attention. With her uniform on, she looked like any other student. Back in the Gotei 13 she had a reputation of being 'Shunsui's woman' or 'victim of Kurosawa's terror', but here, she could build up a new reputation. She was not saying her reputation in the Gotei 13 was bad, but it was nice to start over again. Here nobody knew about her past and so for once she could truly let it go. Shunsui had said that going to the academy would be good for her…had he really meant that she would finally be able to leave her past life behind?

Her first class was being held in lecture theatre B, which was one of the largest lecture theatre in the academy. When she arrived at the lecture theatre she saw that the room was practically empty. The few students already in the room shot her curious looks as she sat down in one of the chairs at the back of the room. As time when by more and more students started to arrive, all of them staring at Rose and whispering amongst themselves. The entire debacle reminded Rose of when she had moved to a different school after she had cleaned up her drug habit. People would stare at her and whisper about the 'new girl', all of them critically evaluating her. Rose only hoped that she would be able to meet their expectations.

* * *

><p>To say that his second in command had been shocked was an understatement. When Shunsui entered the office at nine in the morning Nanao simply stared at him wordlessly for several minutes.<p>

"Taicho… are you ill?" asked Nanao in a weak voice. She never saw him in the office this early in the morning unless if he was ill.

"No Nanao-Chan I am not ill…why would you even think that." Shunsui plopped down onto the couch and closed his eyes. Nine in the morning was simply too early.

"Because I never see you up and about at this time."" Explained Nanao while going back to the paperwork on her desk.

"I had to take darling Rose to the academy this morning." He said while tipping his sakkat down in front of his face to block out the cruel sun light

"Isn't she old enough to walk to the academy on her own?"

"There is no age limit for accompanying people anywhere…especially for the ones you love." Pointed out Shunsui. Plus he still felt the need to keep an eye out on Rose as any number of dangers could arise. The most dangerous of all where his parents and potential lovers. The idea that he was going to have to constantly beat off potential male lovers with a stick was making him feel very tired. It would be rather tiring beating off all the men but for his darling Rose he would do anything.

"I have the mission file for your upcoming trip to Karakura town." Said Nanao while lifting up a folder form her desk. "Would you like to look it over?"

"Hm…could you just read it to me?" asked Shunsui while snuggling down into the couch. Maybe the sound of Nanao-Chan reading to him would help him drift off to sleep?

Nanao grit her teeth. It was not unusual for her superior to ask her to read classified documents to him. No what was making her angry was that he only wanted her to read it to him so that he could fall asleep. "Fine Taicho… but if I find you sleeping under your sakkat I am going to empty out all your sake."

"Mean."

Nanao adjusted her classes. "About one month ago, Rukia Kuchiki and the Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki came across a large group of hollows with unique abilities. When ask about their power level they informed us that they were either of adjuchas or Vasto Lorde level."

"How many hollows are there?"

"Six in total, Sir, and they each have different abilities. However, Rukia and the substitute Shinigami were unable to identity what their abilities were."

"That is most annoying."

"Indeed sir, moreover, according to Rukia's report these hollows don't seem to be targeting Souls and are in fact targeting living humans."

Shunsui groaned. This was most annoying. No wonder Yama-jii had wanted to send Taicho level Shinigami on this mission. If the hollows were primarily targeting living humans then it was problem. But still something was not right. Hollows fed off the souls of the dead, if these hollows were primarily targeting living souls then where were they getting their food from?

"That can't be right Nanao-Chan."

"That is exactly what the Soutaicho said. But apparently these hollows kill the humans and then devour their souls."

"Yare this is most problematic. What about this unknown reiatsu signature?"

"Rukia and the Substitute Shinigami have both been trying to pursue this reiatsu signature, however, whenever they get close to it the hollows start to appear. Is seems that wherever this reiatsu signature goes the hollows follow. The question is: are the hollows pursuing this reiatsu signature or is this reiatsu the leader of their pack." Explained Nanao.

Shunsui sighed, these were the same questions Jushiro and himself had asked before debarking on their mission to London which led to him meeting Rose. Rose had been the powerful, unknown reiatsu and she had been pursued by Shadow Crawler. The events were too similar for his liking.

"From what is described in the folder." Continued Nanao, "the reiatsu appears at random throughout Karakura town and then disappears when either Rukia and the substitute Shinigami or the hollows get too close. We can safely assume that this reiatsu signature has enough control over its abilities to sense when something is approaching."

"When were both the hollows and the reiatsu last seen?" asked Shunsui.

"Two days ago. The hollows were reportedly feeding off a large group of humans outside a supermarket. The substitute Shinigami, arrived to deal with the hollows while Rukia Kuchiki went on to confront the unknown reiatsu. Sadly however, both disappeared very shortly after the substitute Shinigami and Rukia Kuchiki arrived." explained Nanao in a curt, no-nonsense voice.

"How many casualties?" Shunsui did not want to ask but it was still vital to know.

"We are not sure. But when you take into account the feeding patterns of the hollows, the appearance of the reiatsu and the amount of reported casualties on the human news we estimate about twenty humans. However, this number is likely to rise."

Shunsui rose up from his lounging position on the couch. "When is my reported departure time and who is on the team I am leading?"

Nanao flicked through the folder in search for the answer. "Sir, you leave on the 17th of September…almost two days from now. You will be heading a team comprised of: Ukitake Taicho, Yamada Fukutaicho, Abarai Fukutaicho, Rukia Kuchiki, Lisa Yadomaru and most likely the Substitute Shinigami and his friends: Uryuu, Chad and Orihime. Please note that a few more Visoreds might join the team."

"That's a large group of people…how am I going to lead them?" sighed Shunsui. He never liked playing the role of a leader. He loved his position as a Taicho…he just never liked taking the lead on missions. Everything sat on his shoulders…everything, including casualties.

"With the same charm as you do everything else." Nanao smiled slightly.

Shunsui chuckled. "You have such faith in me." He paused for a moment. "Nanao when I am gone can I rely on you to look after Rose for me?" His voice was serious and his face darkened ever so slightly. Nanao knew that he was being serious because he had dropped the suffix in her name.

"Of course Taicho. Although I do not think she requires that much looking after. But I will do it anyway."

"Thank you Nanao." He stood up and walked towards the window with the intension of going to the roof in order to enjoy the last of the summer weather. "Could you send a hell butterfly around to all the people on the mission asking them to meet me here tonight as I want to go over the details of the mission with them."

"Of course Sir." Answered Nanao before summoning a hell butterfly. Shunsui shunpooed up onto the roof and lay down on the tiles. He had a little under two days left in which he could enjoy the company of his darling Rose before he was forced to leave her…again. Moreover in those two days his team and himself needed to collect as much information as they could on the hollows before leaving for the world of the living. In the meantime a reconnaissance team, made up from members of squad two, would scout the area for any traps and other undesirable things which could cause future problems. Shunsui hated the wait but one always sends out the scouts before sending out their armies. They did not know what to expect when they arrived in the human world and so information had to be collected. He was not worried about the mission as he knew that he could defeat the hollows. What had him worried was the idea of leaving Rose alone for a long period of time. Shunsui knew that if ever he had to go on a mission he could leave Rose in the capable hands of her best friend: Hana. However, this time Hana was going on a mission with him and so Rose would have nobody to keep her company. It gave him a bit of peace knowing that Nanao was going to be there for his beloved. But still he did not like the idea of leaving her.

Shunsui lowed his sakkat over his eyes. It seemed like fate was always working against him and Rose.


	5. Chapter 5: Departures

Chapter 5: Departures 

The moment the sensei called an end to the Hakudo class, Rose sighed in gratitude. She had barely been able to keep up with her lecturer in 'history of the Gotei 13' class, and then when it came to her Kido class, she had made a complete fool of herself. Admittedly she had been able to keep up in her Zanjutsu and Hakudo class but that was only because of her previous training sessions with Shunsui. In fact the only class she showed any promise in was Hoho. Rose did not know how to describe it but she just had a knack for Hoho. It was nice having a teacher who did not laugh or tease her while running on a head at an incredible pace…like Shunsui had. Moreover, she was unsure of what to think of the other students in her year. About half of them came from either noble or merchant families while the rest came from the Rukongai. Personally Rose found the people from the Rukongai to be more pleasant than the students from the noble and merchant families. Because Rose was the 'new student' everybody treated her like a shining new toy in a sea of old ones. Everybody needed a 'piece' of her. Over and over again Rose had had to explain where she came from ('I live in the Seireitei'), why she had entered the third year and not the first ('my score in the entrance exam was high enough to allow me to enter the third year'), which dorm she was staying in ('actually I still live at home'). By the end of the day everybody in the third year new her to be: Rose Bentley, lives in the Seireitei and was powerful enough to enter the third year of the academy. Hopefully nobody would uncover her secret.

There was no point heading back to Shunsui's office as he would have most likely gone back to his quarters. The streets of the Seireitei were crowded with many Shinigami walking back to their houses, or heading out to the numerous bars and restaurants which were just starting to come to life. Rose waved when she passed Rangiku and Shuhei, politely declining their offer to go drinking with them. There was only one person she wanted to see and that was her annoying, frustrating yet so kind lover. Of course the students had looked at her love bite with curiosity but Rose had just told them that she had a boyfriend but sadly they broke up a few days ago…and that she did not want to talk about it. If she was going to pull off pretending that she was not seeing someone inside the Gotei 13 then she and Shunsui were going to have to establish few ground rules. And rule number one was that he was not allowed to place any love bites on any visible part of her body. But then that did not mean that she could not place any love bits on him. Rose smiled wickedly. She was going to place the largest love bite ever on her lover's neck just to prove to him how annoying it really was.

She opened the small gate which led into Shunsui's garden and walked up to his front door while pulling out her key. Rose unlocked the door and slid it open. The first thing she noticed when she walked in through the door was that there were several pairs of shoes lined up by the wall. By the looks of it Shunsui had guests over.

"Shunsui." called out Rose as she walked down the corridor leading to the sitting room. "I'm home." She heard voices coming from outside so she assumed that everybody was sitting out on the porch. Rose slid open the door to the sitting room and saw Hana, Ukitake, Renji and Shunsui sitting out on the porch with a small table between them with stacks of papers and bottles of sake on it. None of them had noticed her arrival and by the looks of it they were having a meeting of some sort, one that did not involve Rose. This did not annoy her as she knew that as an academy students there were something's she had no right to know. She turned to leave

"There is food in the fridge if you are hungry." Rose turned around and saw Shunsui looking at her from his seated position on the porch. He had obviously sensed her arrival.

"Thanks." She closed the door and walked towards the kitchen. She did not want to interrupt their meeting and so was also rather hungry. While looking through the fridge she absentmindedly rubbed the side of her stomach. A rather tall and muscular boy in her Hakudo class had been teamed up with her earlier that day and had beaten her spectacularly. As a result she had a rather impressive and sore bruise on her side. Maybe a bit of ice would help with the pain. There was no ice in the freezer, but there was a rather big bag of frozen peas that would do the trick nicely. With a bag of frozen peas pressed up to her side, Rose sat at the kitchen table, watching TV on her laptop while absentmindedly eating pieces of rice cracker. It was rather pleasant sitting there eating food while watching the most pointless soap opera ever created and after a while Rose lost track of time. It felt like seconds later when Shunsui opened the door to the kitchen and walked in. Rose pulled out her headphones and smiled.

"Everything ok?" she asked when she saw that he was frowning.

"Yeah. The meeting just took longer than expected." He sighed. Shunsui walked towards the fridge and opened it. "What are you hungry for?"

Rose turned towards the now empty packet of rice crackers next to her. Looks like she eaten all of them. Oops. "I'm not that hungry. What was the meeting about?"

Shunsui turned around, his frown deepening when he saw the empty packed of rice crackers next to Rose. "You ate an entire packed of rice crackers?"

"Yes."

"Right." He replied through gritted teeth. "I guess that's why you are not that hungry."

Rose could sense that something was bothering him. "Shun…what is wrong?" she stood up, placed the frozen peas on the table, walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Tell me."

"Today has not been very easy." He muttered.

It hadn't been an easy day for him. It had taken longer than expected to get the team together and when they had finally gathered in his house, he discovered how little information they actually had. They only had information on one out of the six hollows in question: Fire Lighter. Fire lighter had been discovered a few years ago by a group of patrolling Shinigami out in the Rukongai. He had been attempting to feed of a small village. According to the records, provided by Hana, Fire lighter had the ability to control and manipulate fire. Over time his powers had grown until he transformed into a low level Vasto Lorde. Because Hana knew the library as well as Nanao did, Shunsui had asked her to do more research into the other hollows whose names they did not know. Apart from doing more research there was really not much they could do until the scouts returned the following day. But it still frustrated Shunsui knowing that he was essentially going in blind. Moreover he still did not like the idea of leaving Rose all alone. Sure he had Nanao looking out for her, but it still made him feel a little uneasy.

""I am some bad news." He said.

"What? What happened Shunsui?" asked Rose growing a little worried.

"I have been asked to go on a mission." He sighed before pulling his girl close to his chest ibn a tight hug.

"A mission? How long will you be gone for?"

"I have been asked to lead a team into Karakura town in order to investigate the appearance of several powerful hollows and another unknown reiatsu. I don't know how long I will be gone for…I leave in two days time."

Rose stepped back from Shunsui and looked up into his sorrowful eyes. "Hey don't look like that. Everything is going to be ok. We knew that something like this might come up eventually and we agreed that we won't let something like this affect us." She said calmly while placing her hand on his cheek. "We promised the Soutaicho that our relationship would not interfere with our work."

"I know…I just don't want to leave you."

"Neither do I…but I guess we have no choice."

Shunsui pulled Rose towards his lips and kissed her deeply and desperately. Rose gasped and melted against him when his marvellous tongue entered her mouth and danced erotically with her own. She could feel the intensity and desperation he felt for her through the kiss and it bother scared and excited her. Shunsui's hand fisted in her hair as he tilted her head in order to kiss her more deeply. He needed, wanted her to understand how much she meant to him. He did not want to leave her but she was right, they had made a promise not only to themselves but also to Yama-jii.

"I love you Rose." He panted when the two of them finally broke apart. "I love you so much that the idea of leaving you is killing me."

"We will get through this Shunsui. I love you so much and I know that we are strong enough to survive this." Rose wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You are so strong my darling Rose" Shunsui held her close to his chest, to his heart. He could not face leaving her but he knew that he had to. Why was fate so cruel to them?

"Who are you going with?" asked Rose after a while.

"Jushiro, Hana-Chan, Renji-Kun and Lisa-Chan." Said Shunsui. "Oh and we will be joined by the Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Chan. I don't think you have meet them yet."

"Lisa…who is Lisa?" asked Rose.

"She was my Fukutaicho before Nanao-Chan. Now she lives in Karakura town but she has agreed to assist me with my mission." Explained Shunsui.

"Ok." Replied Rose now feeling a bit more nervous about Shunsui's trip to the human world then she had before.

"Why don't you go sit outside on the porch and wait while I cook the two of us something nice for dinner. I left the brazier on so it should be nice and warm outside." Shunsui kissed her cheek lovingly.

"Yeah sure." Rose walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the porch. Her lover would be leaving for a mission in two days time and he did not know how long he would be gone for. And to make matters worse he would be working alongside his old Fukutaicho. Rose trusted Shunsui and knew that he would never betray her, but she still felt uneasy. He had never mentioned his old Fukutaicho to her before which was odd. Maybe something had happened between them…something bad. Rose placed a cushion down on the porch right next to the brazier and sat down. Shunsui had been right, it was nice and warm outside. With the warm heat from the brazier and the nice comfortable cushion underneath her she could fall asleep right then and there. Sitting outside, watching the world go by with her lover was one of the few things Rose really loved. In a few weeks' time the leaves on the trees would turned yellow, orange, red and brown before falling to the ground. What a beautiful sight it would be…one that she would love to sit and watch with Shunsui…but sadly that dream would not be fulfilled as her lover would be leaving to go on a mission in a few days' time. Rose slowly massages her sore spot and frowned, she had left the frozen peas inside and she did not want to go back inside in order to get them.

"What's wrong darling?" asked Shunsui as he stepped out onto the porch with two steaming bowls on a tray. He gently placed the bowls down (which contained Udon in a steaming vegetable broth) and sat down next to Rose.

"Oh I was teamed up with this giant in my Hakudo class today and he kinda…well…beat me." Explained Rose.

Shunsui's eyes darkened fractionally. He never liked the idea of his darling Rose getting hurt. Nothing, in his opinion, should stain her pale skin. "Let me see."

"No there really is no need." But one look from her lover made her be quiet. He was staring at her in a way that just screamed 'don't argue with me'. "Fine," she huffed before opening up her kosode and showing him her bruise. Now that she actually saw the damn thing she was happy to note that it was not as big as she had feared. However, it was still big enough to make Shunsui grit his teeth.

"Come here." He gestured to the spot right in front of him.

Rose shuffled over to him. "There is no need to make a big song and dance out of this Shunsui. I am really fine..ahhh." she sighed when she felt his reiatsu brush up against her skin, healing her bruise.

"You should have told me before that you were hurt." He scolded lightly.

"But you were still in your meeting and I did not want to disturb you. Plus this is really a minor injury." She explained

"You would not have disturbed me. I want to know when you are hurt."

"Shunsui, I can't come to you every time I get a small cut of a tiny bruise."

He finished healing her and lowered his hand. "I just don't like the idea of you hurting yourself."

Rose leaned towards him. "Shunsui's you can't protect me from everything. The most important thing is that you protect me from the big and scary stuff." She smiled. "Like that time you removed that large and hairy spider from the bathroom."

"I am being serious here."

"And so am I. You already protect me from so much."

"Like what?"

"My heart…my soul." Rose bent down and kissed Shunsui in what she had hoped to be a light and loving kiss. However, her lover had different ideas and soon the two of them were kissing deeply and passionately on the porch. Rose moaned when she felt Shunsui cup her partially exposed chest and squeeze it ever so gently. Her mouth open on cue to allow his warm tongue to slip in and dance with hers erotically.

"Hmm Shunsui." moaned Rose after a particularly delicious swipe of his tongue. Her fingers removed his hair tie, allowing his hair to flow freely down his back. She always loved touching his hair. His silk brown locks always felt so nice under her finger. Shunsui groaned as he felt his lover's fingers run through his hair which only made him increase the intensity of his kiss. He gently lowered her to the ground in front of him and covered her body with his.

"Here Shunsui?" questioned Rose. She could feel his erection though his uniform and it made her feel so wanton.

"Anywhere my darling. I love you." He kissed her again. There was no need to remove all their clothes, just move a few bits and pieces to the side. And soon the area around Shunsui's garden was filled with pleasured moans and passionate groans as the two of them make sweet, sweet love on the porch. It was slow, hot and oh so passionate. After the two of them had reached completion they lay there, in each other's arms simply content to just stay there, basking in the presence of their one and true love.

"I think the Udon is cold now." Said Rose after a while.

"I can always re-heat it later." Shunsui sat up, and gently pulled Rose to her feet. Without saying a word to her he led her into the house and down the corridor towards the bedroom. His need for her was never quite satisfied.

"Shunsui what about re-heating our food?" questioned Rose.

"It does not matter if our food gets a little cold now does it?" He replied.

"No it does not matter."

"I like it when we share opinions." Shunsui bent down and kissed Rose on the lips. He only had two days left with her and he was not going to waste a single moment of it.

* * *

><p>The large senkaimon opened, spilling out white light which illuminated the surrounding area. From the light emerged Shunsui, Ukitake and Hana. The sun had long since set over the horizon, plunging Karakura into darkness.<p>

Shunsui had not liked the idea of leaving Rose. When the time had come for the two of them to depart neither of them wanted to let go. The last two days had gone by too quickly for both their likings. But then, as they had both experienced before, when you dread something time has a way of speeding up. Rose had told him that the two of them would survive this, but Shunsui was having a hard time believing it. How on earth was he going to last god known how long without having sex with his love? But it was not just the sex he loved. He loved being able to hold Rose in his arms and feel her heart pumping against his chest. In many ways he loved doing that more than having sex with her. He also loved sitting out on the porch while watching her lounge next to him, reading a large history volume. In fact there was very little that he did not love about his darling Rose. Naturally she had accompanied him to the Senkaimon and wished him goodbye and good luck. Shunsui smiled when he remembered her simply adorable blush when he pulled her close to him and kiss her deeply. There had been a horrible sense of déja vu when they kissed each other goodbye on the step of the senkaimon. But this time there had been no desperation as the two of them knew that they would eventually be reunited. But still, it had been a sad moment. Shunsui knew that Rose was going to be left in safe hands but he still felt worried. Any number of things could happen resulting in Rose getting hurt. Hell he had thought that erecting a powerful kido barrier around his house would have been enough to protect her long ago. How wrong he had been.

"I say we head on down to Urahara's place." Suggested Ukitake while pointing off in the general direction of Urahara's shop. "We could then ask Abarai Fukutaicho, Rukia-San and Lisa to join us there." Renji had gone on a day ahead in order to help Ichigo and Rukia collect more data on the hollows and the reiatsu signature.

"I already contacted Renji and told him to meet us at Urahara's shop, Sir." Said Hana.

"Very good Hana-san….Shunsui shall we?" Shunsui looked up at his friend upon hearing his name being called.

"Yeah." The three of them shunpooed off in the direction of Urahara's shop. The street lights from the city twinkled at their feet while they sped towards the shop. The hot, humid air washes against their bodies and made their shihakushō flap in the wind. A few minutes later, the three of them touched down in front of a small building with a clean drive and with a quick nod, headed towards the door.

"Hello?" called out Hana after she slid open the unlocked door.

"Who are you?" came a loud male voice.

Hana looked around and spotted a young boy with orange hair looking up at them. "We are Taicho and Fukutaicho from the Soul Society. Is Kisuke Urahara in?" She asked.

"Boss…some people from the Soul Society are here." The young boy called out.

"Well, well, well if it's not Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku. Please come in, the others are already waiting for you." There leaning in the doorway was Kisuke Urahara, wearing his customary green and white hair and carrying his fan in one hand.

"Kisuke…how are you?" questioned Shunsui after he had removed his shoes.

"Oh you no…living the life of a simple sweet shop owner." Smiled Kisuke slyly.

"Is the old man here?" cried out a distant female voice. The sound was then followed by approaching footsteps.

"Well, took you long enough to come and pay me a visit Kyoraku." Hana's eyes fell upon a girl with long black braids. The girl had red glasses on her face and seemed to be wearing a school girl's outfit…which seemed to reveal a little too much of her slim midriff. Rose had explained to her how concerned she had been over the fact that Shunsui would be working with his old Fukutaicho. Hana had not wanted to mention it at the time but Shunsui and Lisa had in the very, very, very distant past been friends with benefits. Her friend did not need to know that little fact…at least not from her. Of course Hana had told Rose that there was nothing to be concerned about…and she had faith in her words…until she saw what Lisa was wearing. The girl such screamed sex. In that moment Hana knew that Rose had every reason to be worried about her lover.

"Lisa-Chan." Smiled Shunsui

"Seriously? I don't hear from you since the Aizen incident and all you have to say is 'Lisa Chan'." Scolded Lisa.

Shunsui walked up to her and pulled in for a quick hug. "Sorry Lisa-Chan I have just been so busy recently.

"Busy…since when has the infamous Shunsui Kyoraku been busy? Don't you spent all your time lounging around different parts of the Seireitei?"

"People change Lisa-Chan."

Lisa stared at him for a moment before turning to look at Ukitake for an explanation. "Don't worry his changes have shocked us all." Explained Ukitake before following Urahara down the narrow corridor and into a small room with a large circular table in the middle. Already sitting at the table was Rukia and Renji, who all looked up when the door slid open.

"Ukitake Taicho. Kyoraku Taicho, Yamada Fukutaicho." Exclaimed Rukia

"Hana-Chan." Renji got to his feet and went to kiss his lover on the lips. "I missed you." He murmured in her ear.

"I missed you to." Whispered Hana in response. The two of them moved to sit around the table, their hands gently entwined. Shunsui stared at Renji and Hana with longing in his eyes. If only his darling Rose was here on the mission with him. Lisa saw him staring at the couple with longing and again turned towards Ukitake, who had already moved to take a seat next to Rukia and was happily sipping on a cup of tea, for an explanation.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked while gesturing towards Shunsui.

"Ignore him Lisa-san. He is only moping because he cannot spend the night with his 'darling Rose'." Teased Ukitake before taking a sip of his tea.

"Darling Rose!" exclaimed Lisa, before breaking out into a fit of laughter. "Don't tell me that the infamous Shunsui Kyoraku has finally found himself a woman that he does not simply want to fuck and leave. Who is this woman anyway?" Shunsui frowned and tilted his sakkat down further over his eyes.

"Shunsui met her over a year ago while he was on a missions with me to the world of the living. Ever since then the two of them have been madly in love." Explained Ukitake with a smile on his face.

"Oh really?" Said Lisa before looking towards Shunsui with a knowing look on her face.

"From what I have heard the two of them have been inseparable and when I say inseparable I mean it in a literal sense." Said Urahara in his knowing tone. His fan was open and covering his face that only made his knowing tone all the more annoying.

Shunsui grit his teeth but stayed silent. He knew that they were only trying to wind him up…and they were succeeding but he would refuse to let them know that.

"Can we just get down to business?" Stated Shunsui in a rather tired manner. He had stayed up most of the previous night making sweet love to Rose.

"Can't stay away from her?" Teased Lisa.

Ukitake could see the look of growing frustration on Shunsui's face and decided to intervene. Lisa was a nice woman but she could get carried away in her harmless teasing of others.

"I agree with Shunsui, let's get down to work. Urahara can you tell us anything that you know about these hollows and the mysterious reiatsu signature." Said Ukitake.

Urahara nodded and launched into a lengthy explanation on all the information he had been able to collect on the hollow and the mysterious reiatsu signature. Shunsui was grateful for his friend's intervention as he was not sure how much teasing he would be able to manage. All he wanted to do was finish the mission as quickly as possible so he could return to his darling Rose.


	6. Chapter 6: Two Weeks Later

Chapter 6: Two Weeks Later 

Two weeks had passed since Shunsui had left for Karakura town and Rose was starting to get a little bored and lonely. At first it had been a lot of fun. Rose could now sing in the shower, loudly and horrifically off key, in the morning without the fear of waking Shunsui. Moreover she could eat whatever she wanted without her dearly beloved looking on with disapproval. I mean was it really that bad that she wanted to eat Nutella in the morning…and just Nutella. She could play loud music in the house without having to worry about annoying her lover. The list went on and on. But once she got over her initial excitement of being along for the first time in weeks she started to feel a bit lonely. Of course Rangiku and Nanao would frequently come over to offer Rose some company. Just yesterday Rangiku had invited Rose out which had resulted in the two of them drinking copious amounts of alcohol and vowing to never tell anybody what had happened…especially Shunsui. But it was when she was alone…and totally alone did she start to feel the encroaching loneliness. And just when the loneliness started to become unbearable Shunsui would call. It was almost like he knew when she needed him. The two of them would talk to each other every day on the phone. Sometimes Shunsui would call her at night and whisper kind words to her until she fell asleep, while at other times he would call her in the morning and wake her up with gentle words. It did not matter when he called her because whenever he did it made her feel amazing. They never talked about the mission he had been sent on as, firstly Rose was not allowed to know anything about the mission, and secondly, talking about work was rather boring in both their minds. And when one of the sadly had to leave, they would take an equally long time saying goodbye to each other.

It was a Saturday, and Rose had just woken up (with a massive hangover curtesy of drinking too much with Rangiku) and was currently standing in the kitchen contemplating what to have for breakfast. The problem was that she did not know how to cook anything. Rose knew how to cook 'western' food but the problem was that she did not know any shops in the Seireitei that sold western products. As a result she had been limited to cooking 'Asian' food, which was not her strong point. In the past it was Shunsui who did all the cooking in the house, with Rose chipping in every now and then. Because it was always him doing all the cooking, Rose was never given the opportunity to learn how to cook 'Asian' food. Thankfully she knew how to cook noodles and steam a few vegetables but that was it. On the one time she had tried to use the rice cooker she had ended making about half a kilo of burnt, black rice. Shunsui's kitchen, which had been previously full of everything ranging from exotic vegetables to everyday miso paste, now only contained flour, eggs, carrots, onions, cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, apples, oranges, cereal, bread and noodles. For the last week Rose had only been eating cereal or noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it was the only thing she could cook. She also ate the food provided in both the Eighth division mass hall and the academy cafeteria so she was somehow (miraculously) not malnourished. Rose supposed that she could ask Shunsui how to cook but then her pride prevented her from doing so. She had always prided herself for being an excellent baker and so it would damage her image of herself if she asked her lover how to cook. Plus he would only make fun of her.

She was just about to sit down for her morning bowl of cereal when her phone rang. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw who was calling her.

"Rose where were you?" asked Shunsui, is voice accusatory.

"What do you mean?"

"I tried calling you twice already but you did not pick up. I was worried about you…thought something must have happened."

Aww bless him. "I'm sorry Shunsui I only just woke up. I guess I must have been feeling very tired." Replied Rose. She could not tell him the real reason why she had over slept, which was that she had drunk too much the previous night and had returned to his house at four in the morning. Rose knew, just knew that Shunsui would have told her off for 'being so reckless' and 'staying out late drink' and so other shit like that. And quite frankly she did not want to listen to that. It had been a nice change to go out and 'let her hair down' while partying with Rangiku. It was nice to have a girl's night out. Of course Rose always had 'girl time' with Hana but it was different. With Hana they would either bake cakes, watch cartoons and sing along to the songs (if they were musicals) or sit out on the porch talking about everything and anything. With Rangiku she never had to be somebody else, she could be as stupid and as pathetic as she wanted to be and nobody would judge her (mainly because they were all too drunk to). When Rose was around Shunsui she always felt like she was trying to live up to something, like she was trying to prove that she was worthy of his attention. And with Hana, well there were certain things that she could only go to Hana for…and well, there were stuff she simply could not tell her.

"Tired? Well I guess it's good that it's the weekend so now you can catch up on your sleep." Replied Shunsui. "Do you have anything planned for the weekend?"

"I don't have anything planned for today but Nanao has invited me to an SWA picnic in the park tomorrow lunchtime. I think I might use this day to get ahead of my work and maybe bake my mini ginger and pear pies for tomorrow." Said Rose while walking over to a cupboard and pulling out a box of cereals.

"Ah please don't talk to me about your baking because otherwise you will make me jealous. I really miss you baking right now. But it's nice to hear that you are getting out. How are your classes at the academy?" asked Shunsui.

It was a rather pointless question considering he got regular updates from the senseis at the academy. If anything he probably knew more about how she was doing than she did herself. Rose decided to tell him that. "Don't you get regular updates from the academy? If so then surely you know the answer already." She questioned.

Shunsui chuckled, his laughter deep and full of warmth. "Yes I do. But I still want to hear what you have to say as your opinion is what is most valuable to me." He replied

Rose smiled. There was a reason she loved him. Her lover was a fair man and he always wanted to hear the whole story, from all sides, before he made a decision. "I really like my Hoho class. Sekine Sensei is possibly the best sensei in the entire academy. She also says that I am improving at an incredible pace and that by the winter break I might be able to move up to the advance class." Rose gushed. She was very proud of her hoho achievements and she wanted Shunsui to know.

"That's great darling. A hell butterfly from the academy informed me of your potential advancements and I must say that I felt very proud. I am happy that my little darling Rose is doing so well." Even though he was on the other end of the phone, Rose knew that he was smiling and it made her smiles widely as well. It made her feel nice and warm inside knowing that she had made him so proud and happy.

"Now please tell me about your kido class." Continued Shunsui.

Great way to burst her bubble. "Way to burst my bubble Shunsui."

"Sorry darling." He chuckled. "but please tell me what happened in your kido class."

Rose sighed. It was a well-known fact that she was hopeless at kido and yesterday's class only seemed to enhance that fact. They had been practising Hado# 32: Okasen and when it had been Rose's turn to demonstrate the spell it had…exploded in her face. Nobody had been harmed, but it was still rather embarrassing. Rose could summon the reiatsu to her hands…it was just releasing it that proved to be so troublesome. The sensei had then called her aside at the end of the class and had given her a 'talking to'…which was closer to a harsh one sided conversation which left her feeling really ashamed of herself. It was not like she purposely made herself terrible at kido…she was just bad at it. Her sensei had also told her to learn the words for the chant. But no matter what she did, Rose could not remember them. The problem also lay in the fact that the reiatsu she had gathered up in her hand simply would not leave. It would build and build until it exploded out of her. Her sensei had blamed her inability at doing kido on several things: her inability to learn the incantation, her inability to control her reiatsu and thus summon too much or too little for the spell, her inability to listen to his instruction, her inability to do this, her inability to do that. It was constantly her inability to do anything and it made her so angry. She was angry at herself and at her sensei. Not everybody was good at everything. Hell even Shunsui was not a kido master. Rose secretly thought that the reason she could not cast a kido spell was because of her repulsion to hurt anybody. Hell her Zanpakuto 'killed' hollows by putting them to sleep. But Rose was not that bad at Kido. She could manage a few binding spells as they did not hurt anybody. However, sadly the academy kido curriculum only really focused of Hado spells as they were more useful in battle.

"My kido spell blow up in my face…again." She muttered in a barely audible voice.

"Yare darling Rose. Do you know what is preventing you from casting kido?" Shunsui asked in a gentle understanding voice that somehow made everything better.

"I don't know. I think it is a combination of me not being able to remember the incantations and and…" Rose was unsure if she should tell him her theory.

"Tell me Rose I won't judge."

"I think it might also be because…I hate hurting people. I cannot stand the sight of blood being spilt so I think the fact that my soul rejects it leads to me being unable to cast Hado spells."

"You never have like the sight of blood and I think your theory might be right. But we have talked about this and Hado is a skill you need to learn. Continue practising it and keep telling yourself that while you are practising you are not hurting somebody and no blood will be and you should be able to get over your…fear." Said Shunsui in a gently voice. The two of them had sat down one night and Shunsui had very kindly talked to Rose about her…dislike for Hado spells. He knew where her fear of blood came from and it killed him each time her saw the after effects of her terrible childhood ordeal. He had pulled her close to his chest an explained that a Shinigami needed to have a means of attacking or defending themselves if they were unable to use their Zanpakuto. Although using Bakudo spells were an effective means of defending oneself they always ran the risk of wearing off too quickly…and there was the added problem of the enemy not actually being defeated. Rose had nodded her head and said that she was going to at least try to cast Hado spells…but that there was no guarantee that she would be making any fast improvements. Shunsui could see the frustration in her eyes whenever she failed to cast a proper Hado spell. In the past she was able to cast them if she had the words to the incantation right in front of her…yet now it seemed like that was not enough. Shunsui guessed that Rose's regression in Kido casting had been because of her second capture and torture by Kurosawa. She had been absolutely terrified and had never been able to completely get over it. He continued to support her and whisper words of encouragement in her ears whenever she seemed to doubt herself or when she was close to giving up. Just the fact that she was trying was enough for him.

"I do that…but it just never seems to work." Replied Rose with sorrow in her voice."

"At least you are trying and that is what really matters. You said so yourself that change is likely to take a long time but I know that eventually you will make it." encouraged Shunsui.

And here came the words of encouragement. "Thanks Shunsui, I don't know what I would do without your kind words." said Rose rather quietly into the phone.

"Anything to make my darling Rose happy. What I am saying is true. You can do this so long as you overlook your fear. I wish I could be there to help you out." He tone had a bit of longing in it.

"I know I wish you could be here too. I really miss your wonderful cooking."

"Is that all you miss of me?"

"No, I miss the way you hold me close to your body in the morning in the hopes of convincing me to stay in bed for a little while longer, and the way you just know when I want a cup of tea. But most importantly I miss the way you make me feel...especially in bed." Thankfully Shunsui was on the over end of the phone and so could not see the blush that had spread across her face when she uttered the last part of her sentence.

Shunsui chuckled. "Well it is always good to know that you miss me but the way you describe it make me think that you only want me for my body…or what I do to you inbetween the sheets." He teased.

"I also miss how you make me laugh, or when you comfort me when I feel down. You are a great listener and because you are especially talented in reading people you can always tell when something is bothering me and I love that about you." Said Rose. "You said that you missed my baking, is there anything else about me that you miss?" She added.

Shunsui thought for a moment. "Nah I can't think of anything else that I miss about you.' He concluded in a teasing tone.

"Shunsui be serious."

"I am."

"Shunsui."

"The truth is Rose I can't list all the things that I miss about you because…well the list is too long and some words just simply cannot describe how I feel about you and how it feels when you are not here. I just miss having you around, I know it sounds rather plain but it is true. I just want you here next to me." He said in a rather serious tone

"Shunsui…" Roe was at a loss of what to say.

"I miss you Rose…and I love you so, so much that I hurts when you are not here."

"I love you to Shunsui…so much."

There was silence for a moment, the two of them trying to assimilate what had just been said. "I'm sorry Rose but I have to cut our phone call short since we are about to head out. I will try and call you again this evening but I cannot guarantee that I would be free then. If I am not then I hope you have a fun day and enjoy your picnic tomorrow." Sighed Shunsui. He sound so sad that he had to leave.

"I understand Shunsui." Rose truly did, even though it both hurt and annoyed her that he had to be so far away from her. She understood that he was a Taicho and that he had to fulfil his duties. "Stay safe." She added.

"I love you."

"I love you to."

Rose heard the phone on the other end go silent before sighed again. It sucked that Shunsui had to be so far away but she knew that he was trying everything in his power to finish his mission as fast as possible so that he could return to her. There was no use crying over something that she had no power to change. All she had to do was stay strong and wait for her lover to return. In the meantime Rose was going to go about her life and study hard so that she could improve her fighting skills and maybe overcome her inability to cast hado spells. It would be a nice surprise for Shunsui to return home and discovered that she had been able to overcome her fear. However, right now she was going to focus on her 'history of the Gotei 13' work which was a more pressing issue than her kido ability.

* * *

><p>Those were definitely hollow prints. There was so much evidence indicating that hollows had been here. The only problem was that the hollows had disappeared…again. Shunsui felt like shouting. While he had been on the phone with Rose, Hana had detected the hollows they were hunting in the southern part of Karakura town. Moments after the hollows had been detected Rukia reported that the unknown reiatsu had reappeared to the west of Karakura town. Shunsui had been forced to split his team up into two groups: Ukitake, Rukia and Ichigo would go after the unknown reiatsu while Hana, Renji, Lisa and himself would track down the hollows. However, just like every single over time they had tried to eliminate the hollows they had disappeared before they had even arrived. It was starting to become very frustrating. They had no new information and their hunt for the hollows was proving to be very challenging. Currently Shunsui, Hana, Renji and Lisa were standing in a large, deserted park with a giant playground tucked away in a corner.<p>

"Kyoraku Taicho, I have a report from Ukitake Taicho." Said Hana.

"Let me guess…he arrived that the sight where the unknown reiatsu was only to discover that it had disappeared?" asked Shunsui in a sarcastic tone.

"Spot on Kyoraku Taicho. I wonder how you knew." Replied Hana in an equally sarcastic tone. Shunsui smiled. This whole incident with the hollows and the unknown reiatsu was bothersome but at least there was humour to be found in it. "He also said that they might have found a clue as to who or what this reiatsu is. Taicho was not very specific about it and only said that he would explain it to us when we got back to Urahara's place." Added Hana after sharing a smile with Shunsui.

"Well I guess we had better be heading back. Unless we can find and evidence here as to which hollows we are dealing with.

"It-it had water." Said a small voice from behind an elegantly trimmed rose bush.

"Hello?" called out Shunsui while looking in the direction of the voice. From behind the bush came a small boy with short brown hair and striped t-shirt, jeans…and a metal chain protruding from his chest.

"Those monsters came here and so I ran and hid." The poor boy looked absolutely terrified and was on the verge of tears.

"It's ok." Said Shunsui before walking towards the boy and kneeling down in front of him. "Those monsters can sometimes be very scary but you did the correct thing." His voice was smooth and soothing and seemed to calm the terrified boy down. "Can you tell me what those monsters looked like so that next time they show up my friends and I-," Shunsui gestured to the rest of his team "-can eliminate them?"

The boy swallowed a few times. "There were five in total but two of them were smaller than the rest. But even though they were smaller they seemed to be leading the others."

"Did some of the monsters have any distinguishing features?" asked Shunsui

"I-I don't know…I had my eyes closed most of the time. But-but…one of them looked and awful lot like a fish." Stuttered the little boy.

"A fish?"

"This monster had a face like a fish but the body of a very tall and thin human and he squirted out water." Said the little boy. "Why is it that you can see me? I know that nobody here can see me because I am dead…but then why can you?

"We are Shinigami and I think it is time that you moved on to the other side." explained Shunsui.

"But I am scared."

"There is nothing to be scared of. The Soul Society is a peaceful place where you will know no hunger."

"Will I be able to see my parents again?" asked the little boy.

"Of course you will." Lied Shunsui. It was always better to lie to souls as the chances of them ever meeting up with their relatives was very, very slim. Besides the little boy would most likely forget even having relatives as most souls usually forget everything about their human lives when they travel to the Soul Society…unless that human was Rose Bentley. With darling was an anomaly considering that she was able to remember everything about her human life…which was not actually a good thing. Shunsui theorized that this was because she had acquired her Zanpakuto before dying...or something along those lines.

"Then I am ready to go." Said the boy.

Shunsui unsheathed his short sword. "Goodbye buddy and thank you for your help." he gently placed the hilt down on the little boy's forehead. The boy smiled and then slowly started to disappear.

"I am always amazed at how good at lying you are Kyoraku." Said Lisa.

"Telling that boy the truth would have been cruel. Plus there is no chance that he will ever meet his parents again. At least by lying to him he can rest in peace." Replied Shunsui. "Alright, let's head back to Urahara's so that we can contact the Soul Society about any water based hollows who look like a fish. Also I am curious as to what Jushiro found." He said to the group before leading them back to Urahara's place.

* * *

><p>"So this soul told you that one of the hollows looked like a fish?" Asked Kisuke. "I must say I have never heard or seen a hollow that looked like a fish before. And you said that his powers were water based?" It was early evening and everybody was gathered around Kisuke's small circular table with steaming mugs of tea in their hands.<p>

"Yes," answered Shunsui. He had just finished explaining to everybody what had happened.

"And I am assuming that the moment they sensed your arrival the hollows disappeared?"

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence. "Hana were you able to contact the Soul Society?" asked Ukitake.

"Yes. However Kurotsuchi was reluctant to help me and so he had one of his subordinates send me all the files on known hollows with water bases powers…the document is rather large." Replied Hana with a frown on her face.

"Don't beat yourself up Hana-Chan, at least now we are getting somewhere with the hollows." Said Renji while running a comforting hand up and down her back. Shunsui quickly looked away from the two of them as the sight of them together only made his longing for Rose increase. But Renji was right, they were making progress in the mission.

"What about you Jushiro? I heard that you found something." Stated Shunsui while looking at his friend.

"Well do be honest I am not exactly sure what we found." Said Ukitake. "As usual when we arrived the unknown reiatsu was already gone but this time it left… a substance. Of course we took a sample and sent it off to the twelfth division but they said that analysing it could take some time as it was a rather complex substance."

"Interesting, tell me what did this substance look like?" Asked Kisuke.

"It was a white, slimy substance."

"I have never heard of anything like it."

"So all we have to do now if wait for the twelfth division to finish analysing it." Said Shunsui. "In the meantime I suggest we try to identify which water based hollow we are hunting. Hana, you and Renji will work on identifying the hollow, while Rukia, I want you and Ichigo to continue eliminating all the small hollows in Karakura town." Said Shunsui.

"And what about me?" questioned Lisa.

"You, me and Jushiro here will patrol the area and see if we can find this unknown reiatsu." Replied Shunsui. It was always the same thing every day, one group hunted the hollows while the rest searched for the unknown reiatsu. It was getting rather boring. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hana looking at him with critical eyes and lips slightly pursed. In fact when he went off with Lisa, she would look at him like he had committed a grave offense. It was getting rather annoying if he was to be honest.

"I'm going to start looking at the files the twelfth division sent me." Announced Hana before standing up. "If you will excuse me Taicho." She bowed and left the room. Renji downed the rests of his tea and followed Hana out the room. Shunsui had a suspicious feeling that the two of them were not going to read through the files straight away. He made to note to himself to not head back to their base camp for a few hours. As neither of them wanted to be indebted to Kisuke or Lisa, they had decided to rent a small apartment which they used as a base camp. Of course it was paid for out of the mission budget. Renji and Hana shared a room while Shunsui and Ukitake took the other. At the time they had thought it was a good idea...until the two lovebirds had started to have amorous encounters in the middle of the night when they thought everybody was asleep. Shunsui had been woken up on numerous occasions by either the sound of a bed creaking or groans. It was hell listening to people 'enjoy' themselves at night while he longed for his lover.

"You know those two are not going to 'look through the files'." Said Lisa.

"We know." Replied Shunsui and Ukitake at the same time.

Lisa smiled. "Regretting getting that apartment with them?"

"Yes."

"Are they that loud?"

"Yes." Both Shunsui and Ukitake had pained expressions on their face. Just the memory of the two of them at night was painful.

There was a slight pause in the conversation. "Well I'd better go inform Ichigo about the situation." Said Rukia. "If you will excuse me." She bowed at that the two Taichos before leaving the room.

"Is she still living in Ichigo's cupboard?" asked Shunsui

"Yes." Replied Ukitake.

"Are the two of them…?"

"I don't know. By the way did you final get through to Rose?"

"Yes. Apparently she slept through both my phone calls. Poor girl must have been tired. The girls from the SWA have invited her out to a picnic in the park tomorrow." Replied Shunsui.

"Yeah I heard Hana talk about it. She was so upset that she would have to miss it." Said Ukitake.

"Shame. Rose seemed excited about it when she told me about it. I will have to call her tomorrow to ask her how it all went."

"And what about that message from the Academy. You did not look very pleased when you read it." Asked Ukitake.

"Apparently Rose could potentially move up to the advanced Hoho class." Replied Shunsui.

"But that is good news."

"Yeah but there was also a section that outlined how she had yet again failed to properly complete her Kido classes."

"Oh".

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"She blew herself up…don't worry she was fine." Said Shunsui.

"Wait, wait, wait, you never told me that Rose was an academy student?! Are you dating an academy student?" asked Lisa who then burst out laughing when she discovered that she had indeed been correct. "It had always been one of your fantasies to sleep with an academy student. In fact when the two of us used to sleep together you would always like it when I wore my old academy uniform."

"Lisa," said Shunsui with a hint of warning in his voice.

"What it's not like people didn't know we were sleeping together…unless." She stared at him and smiled when she saw him nod. "You mean to say that you have not told Rose about the two of us?!" she shrieked with laughter. "Oh man she is going to give you hell when she discovers."

"It's not that I didn't want to tell her it's just that I never found a way to tell her." replied Shunsui rather hotly. When was he supposed to slip something like that into everyday conversation?

"So you are sleeping with an academy student who by the sounds of it can't even cast a simply Kido spell. You have gone downhill since sleeping with me." Laughed Lisa. Ukitake looked at his friend and saw that he was gritting his teeth in frustration.

"I does not matter whether she is good at Kido or not. Rose is the woman that I want to be with for the rest of my life…I love her." replied Shunsui rather angrily.

"Calm down." Said Lisa. "I was only teasing you."

"I think you will find Yadomaru-san that Rose is a very delicate topic for Shunsui as he takes everything about her very seriously." Explained Ukitake.

Lisa looked back at Shunsui. "Oh man you really fell for her." Shunsui could not agree more.


	7. Chapter 7: Distracting Photo

Chapter 7: Distracting Photo

**Warning: Lemon**

* * *

><p>It was the middle of November and Rose was sitting outside on the porch with a thick blanket wrapped around her and a book in her lap. It was a Wednesday and she had the afternoon off. A gush of wind blew the fallen leaves across the garden. Shunsui's garden, which had once been so bright and colourful with summer flowers, had turned into an explosion of fiery red and golden yellow as the leaves on the trees changed colours and fell to the ground. It was a beautiful sight and one that Rose wished Shunsui was here to experience with her. But there was no point moping over something that she could not change.<p>

Hana had called her this morning and told her that the mission was not going well. Apparently it was proving to be harder than previously expected to hunt down the hollows and Shunsui was starting to get frustrated. The news was bad and made Rose feel a little sad as it meant that her lover would not be coming home to her anytime soon. Hana then went on to mention something rather interesting. She claimed that Shunsui was jealous of her and Renji and just the mere sight of the two of them together made him grit his teeth. She then went on to conclude that Shunsui really missed Rose…in a physical way. Rose had been mortified…and a little prideful because her lover was lusting over her. But sadly she was stuck in the Soul Society. But then Hana had suggested something.

_Flashback of the phone call _

"_You know Rose Shunsui really does miss you. It is rather cute and sad at the same time to see him so depressed. Lisa teases him about it and he simply jokes about it but Ukitake Taicho and I can see how upset he really is." Said Hana_

"_Poor Shunsui. I would love to travel to Karakura town and give him a nice surprise but I don't think the Soutaicho would let me go…especially if it is for a booty call." Replied Rose _

"_You know, you don't have to be in Karakura town in order to…pleasure your lover."_

"_Erm…Hana…I kinda need to be in the same place as Shunsui in order to pleasure him." _

"_I'm not saying that you have to physically be here…just be here in spirit."_

"_Hana…what that hell are you talking. Tell me has the last of your sanity dripped out of your ear? Or have you just had extremely good sex with Renji and your mind is still on the fritz?" asked Rose. _

"_My sanity is still in take, Rose," sighed Hana. "What I am trying to say is that you…give something to Shunsui that can…help him?"_

"_Give him something?"_

"_Yes…like a photo"_

_Rose was silent for a moment as she tried to digest what Hana had just told her. "Are you suggesting that I send Shunsui a nude photo to help him get off?" she asked after a while. _

"_Yes."_

"_But-but." Taking a nude photo of herself and sending it to her lover just seemed so…so trashy. And there was also no guarantee that her nude photo would be kept a secret. She had heard of many stories of people's nude photos being stolen and leaked. It was just such a risky act to do. But then by the sounds of it Shunsui was rather depressed. He needed her. _

"_What are you worried about Rose?"_

"_Well…it's just that taking a nude photo of myself seems like such a trashy thing to do…and…and I am scared that it will be leaked." Muttered Rose._

"_Ok firstly, you are sending your lover a nude photo and not some unknown man on the streets. Secondly, do you really think Shunsui is going to leak that photo of you? He would never betray your trust like that."_

"_It is not his trust I am worried about. I am scared that someone might steal it."_

"_Rose, Taicho's soul pager are one of the hardest things to hack. Just take a photo and send it to his soul pager and then delete the original."_

_Rose thought for a moment. "Alright fine…I will take the photo." Now that she really thought about it taking a nude of herself to send to her lover was a rather interesting idea…and a little erotic. _

"_Good…now I really must go. I told Ukitake Taicho that I would not be gone for long."_

"_Alright then. Bye."_

"_Bye."_

_End of flashback_

Rose had never been one to take nude photos…or even ones with her in just her panties. It just seemed so…weird and fake to send a nude of oneself to a lover just so that he could lust over you. Although she told Hana that she was going to send a nude photo to Shunsui she was starting to have second thoughts. It just seemed like such a …desperate and trashy to do. Surely the real thing was better than pornography? But as she sat during her morning classes at the academy Rose began to warm up to the idea of sending Shunsui naughty pictures of herself. She trusted him enough to know that he would never show them to anybody else. He was always very protective and territorial when she was around other men. Hell when a man so much as approached her he began to see red. And so before sitting out on the porch to read her book, Rose had stripped down to her birthday suit and had lain down on the bed to snap a provocative photo of herself. The picture was of her lying on her back with an arm just covering her breasts. The camera was angled just right to capture just a hint of her core. Her long brown hair was fanned out around her and her intense blue eyes were staring at the camera with a cheeky look in them. Over all Rose believed that she had taken the perfect picture. It was sexy and yet tasteful at the same time. After taking the picture she had immediately sent to it to Shunsui before her nerves convinced her otherwise and then she proceeded to delete the original one. After that Rose had sat herself down on the porch and started to read her book.

A hell butterfly flew gently across the sky and landed in the edge of Rose book.

"What message do you have for me my sweet butterfly?" she smiled while extending her finger out for the butterfly. The butterfly fluttered onto her finger and transmitted the message to Her. When it was done it fluttered off. Rose sighed, she was being summoned to the first division by its fukutaicho. Slowly she got to her feet and started to walk off towards the first division.

* * *

><p>It had been Shunsui's turn to go out on patrol and so he was currently walking along the edge of Karakura town in the cold when he should have been indoors with a warm mug of tea. The white slime they had discovered a few weeks ago had turned out to be hollow feed. According to the report by Kurotsuchi when a hollow consumes a soul it produces the white slime which it then assimilates into its body. This led Shunsui and his team to conclude that the unknown reiatsu was in fact feeding the hollows human souls which meant that they were most likely working together. It made the need to find this unknown reiatsu all the more desperate. Moreover after spending a long time pouring over documents, Hana and Renji had finally been able to identify the water based hollow. Her name was Agua Blue and she possessed the ability to transform her body into water and mould it into any shape. Thankfully she was only at an adjuchas level and so a Taicho class Shinigami could easily take her on. Apart from that there had been no new discoveries, which was driving Shunsui insane. How he longed to see Rose again, to hold her close to his chest in a tight embrace. Lisa would tease him about it and he would try to put on a brave face. but he knew that Ukitake could see through his façade.<p>

He had just reached the outskirts of the city when his Soul pager beeped. He looked down and saw that Rose had sent him something. He thought it was rather odd that she would send him something. Shunsui opened the message and stopped in his tracks. There on his soul pager was a picture of his delightful angel…in the nude. Her creamy pale arm was draped across her breasts and there between her legs was a hint of her core. Rose was also shooting him the most adorable smile he had seen in a long time. Heat and arousal started to flow through his body and he could feel his member twitch. Damn his naughty lover was teasing him, inviting him to come and join her with the look she was giving him. No! Now was not the time to think of naughty things as he had a mission to finish. What was she thinking sending his…deliciously naughty photos? Shunsui continued to walk but it was agony as his body and mind screamed for her. His member was becoming impossibly hard and his hands twitched to touch himself. Damn it! This was agony. Shunsui made it only a few more meters before he cursed loudly. Arousal and lust coursed through him while he stomped down a deserted alley way. He knew that nobody could see him while he was out of his gigai but he still felt exposed masturbating in public. Once he was deep enough in the alley way he undid his sash and pulled open his shihakushō, thus releasing his straining member. He would have to be quick. His tip had already started to ooze copious amounts of pre-cum so his member was already lubricated. Shunsui grabbed his member in a tight hold and started to brutal pump his hands up and down. The pleasure was wonderful and exactly what he needed. Over and over his hand would run up and down his throbbing member making him groan and pant in utter pleasure. Shunsui closed his eyes and picture himself in his bedroom back in his quarters with Rose lying naked in front of him with her arm draped over her breasts.

"_Please Shunsui." Begged Rose before moving her free hand down to cup her sex. "I need you. I am so wet and needy. Please show me how much pleasure you can give a woman." _

_Shunsui smiled a slow and wicked smiled. "Well come over here darling Rose and let me show you." He chuckled darkly when he watch his lover turn around on the bed to show him her weeping slit. It was like she was offering him up something. Her hand was still resting on her core and she had already sunk one finger in between her wet folds and was slowly pleasuring herself. _

"_Eager aren't we?" He teased while he watched her finger sink slowly I and out of her pink and soaking core._

"_Please…I need you so much." pleased Rose._

_Shunsui smiled wolfishly before climbing onto the bed and flipping his lover over so that she was lying on her back on the bed. He lowered his head down and took one of the delicious pink nipples into his mouth and teased them. While his mouth tasted one of the delicious nipples in front of him is free hand played with the other. Rose started to pant and groan in rhythm to his teasing. Shunsui teased each breast until they were both red and sore before moving on to more exciting things. Rose gasped when she felt the war heat from her lover's mouth enclose around her core. His velvet tongue teased her ever so slightly before diving into her wet heat, tasting her delicious essence. Rose wailed as intense pleasure coursed through her body as her lover's tongue dived over and over into her core. She had no idea how long she could last as his expert tongue dominated her. Her fingers laced into his hair and pressed his face harder into her core, begging him for something…something that she did not know. She was close. Shunsui seemed to get whatever message she had given to him as he lifted one of his hands and pinched her clit hard. Rose screamed as a mixture of pleasure and pain crashed through her body forcing her into an intense orgasm. Her body started to contract deliciously, releasing all the built up tension in her body. And when her orgasm passed she could only lie there, panting which her body still shook in delight. Sadly her lover was still rock hard and now going mad with pleasure. The sight of his lover coming hard underneath was so erotic and had him want to pound into her recklessly. Rose watched with lust filled eyes and Shunsui slip up her body and positioned their pelvises right next to each other. _

_He slowly, oh so slowly started to sink into the hot wet heat that was his lover's core, groaning in the process. When he was fully sheathed Shunsui let out a deep growl. This was possibly the best place in the entire world. His Rose's core was always hot, wet and the perfect tightness. It was like it was made solely to fit him. Underneath him he could hear Rose panting and writhing around. Slowly he began to thrust into her while enjoying the sound of her passionate sighs. But Shunsui wanted to hear her scream. So he grabbed both her legs and hooked them over his shoulder (thankfully Rose was so agile) and started to brutally pound into her. The effect was instantaneous; Rose screamed loudly and fisted her hands into the sheets beneath her as she tried to anchor herself against the intense pleasure. _

"_Oh please….please…please" begged Rose in between her screams of ecstasy. She had no idea what she was pleading for. For him to go harder, to slow down, to pin her clit…anything so long as he did not stop the pounding that was making her scream in pleasure. _

_Shunsui only took her pleads as s sign to give it to her harder. If she really did not like it then she would have told him to stop. Rose's core just seemed to get wetter with each plunge and her screams of pleasure only seemed to be getting louder. Over and over again his member would plunge into her warm heat at a rapid and brutal pace. However, Shunsui could not keep this pace up for long. His lover's core was just too good and he could feel himself approaching his release. But by god he was going to make her cum before he did. Shunsui lowered one of his hands (which had been previously gripping Rose's waist) and started to flick and rub her clit in rhythm to his pounding. Rose howled as she felt her clit being artfully played with. So good…so good. But the pleasure was too much for her and she came loudly a second time, screaming her release while her core contracted rapidly. Shunsui left all air leave his lungs as he felt her wondrous core contract around his member, begging it to release. And who was he to disappoint a woman? He groaned loudly as he felt his balls contract sending his seed coursing through his body and out his throbbing member. Over and over his balls contracted making him experience and intense pleasure._

Shunsui opened his eyes and saw that he had just squirted his seed all over the alleyway floor. Wow, that had been intense. He could feel his knees begin to weaken and so he leaned against the wall. Beads of sweat were slowly trickling down his face. All the tension and anxiety that had been building up inside of him had started to flow away, leaving him feeling relaxed and much like a marshmallow. Slowly Shunsui allowed his body to sink to the ground. That had been so intense…so wonderful that for a moment all he could do was sit there. Shunsui did not know how much time had passed but he soon realised that if he did not get moving soon Ukitake might send out a search party to look for him…and he did not want to be found like this. Slowly he replaced his now flaccid member back into his uniform before tying up with shihakushō. When everything was back together and he looked presentable, he set off back to Urahara's place feeling a little more relaxed. But deep down Shunsui knew that his longing for Rose would come back tomorrow…and it would be more intense.

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><p>It was always rather intimidating walking along the corridors of the first division. Interestingly enough the halls of the first division were always a lot hotter that in any other division. It must be because the Taicho of the first division wielded that most powerful fire Zanpakuto ever created. Rose tried to count how many times she had been to the first division and concluded that she had been only been twice. The first time was when she had returned to the Soul Society and the second time it was with Shunsui just before she started going to the academy.<p>

The man leader her through the division slide open a door and stepped aside. The room looked like an ordinary conference room with a large table in the middle with several chairs scattered around it.

"Please wait here for Sasakibe Fukutaicho." He said before bowing and leaving the room.

Rose walked towards a chair and sat down. She had no idea why she was being summoned to the first division. Deep down she was scared that it had something to do with her recent kido performance at the academy. Oh no! Maybe the Soutaicho was going to drop her down to the second year class. Fear ran through Rose's body as she imagined having to explain the Shunsui why she had been forced to drop down a year. The door to the conference room opened and in walked Sasakibe. Rose leapt to her feet and bowed.

"Good afternoon Sasakibe Fukutaicho." She bowed.

"Good afternoon Rose Bentley, please have a seat." Sasakibe pointed towards the seat she had just vacated. "Would you like a cup of tea?" he asked.

"Erm…sure." Rose was not sure if she should have accepted or declined his offer. Sasakibe called in one of his subordinates and asked her to make the two of them a pot of tea.

"Now then Rose Bentley I am sure you are wondering why you were summoned here?" asked Sasakibe, taking a seat opposite of her.

"Yes, sir." Replied Rose.

"Every year the first division hosts an event in which all the noble families in the Seireitei and all the Taichos and Fukutaichos are invited to. This event is in the form of a ball and its purpose is to create unity between the Gotei 13 and the noble families. Have you heard of this event before?"

"No sir," replied Rose.

"That is understandable considering that you have only been in the Seireitei for a few months. Every year there is a different theme to the ball. This year's theme is 'the world of the living' and so all the guests would have to wear something from the world of the living. The reason that I summoned you here today is to ask if you would help cater for the event. People have always talked very highly about your baking abilities and so I was asked by the Soutaicho to offer you the job of helping to cater for the event. Of course there is the added bonus that you have experience with baking western style deserts. Does the idea appeal to you?"

Rose smiled widely. The opportunity to cater for a huge event was both daunting and exciting. When she had worked in the bakery back in London she had catered for weddings and so on, so a ball would be easy. "I would be honoured to accept the job. May I ask what types of baked goods you would like me to bake?" she asked.

"It has to be something that is both easy to eat and is not messy. Also there has to be a variety of different flavours." Replied Sasakibe.

"Would you like me to run through a few options for the cakes with you?" Rose asked Sasakibe.

Sasakibe nodded his head. "I would of course be needing a report containing details of the cakes you were planning on baking. Is it possible to have a report in by tomorrow?"

"Yes." Nodded Rose. Planning cakes was easy…and so was baking them.

"You will also have a team of cooks at your disposal and you will of course be allowed into the ball." Explained Sasakibe.

Rose nodded but it did not matter to her if she could go to the ball or not. There was not point going considering that the man she desperately wanted to dance with would most likely not be there.

"Alright then Rose Bentley I expect a report of what you are planning on baking on my desk tomorrow. I am very grateful that you accepted this job."

"I am honoured that I was chosen for the job."

"Very well Rose. If you will excuse me I must return to my duties. I will have our sixth seat escort you out of the division" Sasakibe got to his feet.

"Of course Sasakibe Fukutaicho." Rose stood up and bowed. Sasakibe opened the door and walked out, leaving Rose alone in the room. The meeting had been so quick that the poor person sent off to the make tea would not have time to serve it. Poor waited in the conference room to be escorted out of the division. She was not sure what to think or how to respond to the news she had just been given. Of course she was over the moon that she had been given such a high honour, however, she was also curious as to how the Soutaicho knew about her baking abilities. Everybody in the eighth knew about her marvellous baking skills, but then beyond that her skills were unknown. Maybe the Soutaicho had enough power that turned himself into an omnipresent being?"

"Rose Bentley…I will show you out now." Rose turned around and looked at the division member before following him towards the exit. She would have to tell Shunsui about the wonderful opportunity she had been given. He may be away in the world of the living but he had told her that he wanted to know everything that was going on in her life

As soon as Rose got back to Shunsui's quarters she sat down and started to plan which recipes she was going to use. They had to be easy and not very messy to eat. Rose sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out her little blue book which contained every single recipe she had created. Nobody, not even Hana, was allowed to look in the book. It was private…her own personal little secret and she wanted to keep it like that. The little blue book contained recipe for every occasion from birthday cakes to wedding cakes and seasonal dishes. An hour later Rose finished writing her report to Sasakibe which contained all the cakes she was going to bake for the ball.

_Browned Butter Coffee cake _

_Gingerbread cake roll _

_Sticky toffee cupcakes with salted buttercream icing_

_White chocolate and blackberry cupcakes_

_Salted peanut chocolate cupcakes _

_Chocolate fudge cake _

_Carrot cake_

_Victoria sponge cake_

_Chocolate cupcakes with raspberry icing_

_Lemon drizzle cake _

_Chocolate mousse cake_

_Show stopper. _

Rose did not know how many of each she was supposed to make as she did not know how many people would be attending this event. She assumed that there would be close to 400 people. If her number was correct then she had a lot of baking ahead of her. But there was no point worrying about that now as she. Anyway there was a reason that she picked those cakes to bake, and that was that most of them could be made in advance and frozen until it was time for them to be consumed.

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><p><strong>Hi Guys,<strong>

**Sorry for the late update but I was super busy last week and so I did not have the time to update. Please review and favorite. :) **


	8. Chapter 8: Brutally Hurt

Chapter 8: Brutally Hurt 

**Warning: Gore**

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><p>It was getting dark and Shunsui had still not reached Urahara's shop but he was not too concerned about that. The night was pleasantly warm and the moon was alight making it the perfect time to go out on an evening stroll. Plus if he got back to Urahara's shop sooner he would just have to endure Hana and Renji giving each other sickly love looks that made him want to rip his eyes out. Shunsui took a left turn and started to walk town a street that was full of bars and clubs. The clubs looked rather shut as it was too early in the evening for any of them to be opened, but the bars were crowded and full of life. Men in dark suits sat in booths drinking expensive looking sake after a long day of work while the younger generation stood around the bar drinking cheap beer. Shunsui was itching to go into the bar and have a drink of sake, however, he was still on patrol. Maybe once he returned from patrol, he could convince Jushiro to go out for a drink. Hell they had been working around the clock recently so a little down time was most probably needed. Yes that is what Shunsui was going to do. Once he got back from his patrol he would give everybody the night off. He would then call Rose and see how her day had been (and to thank her for the erotic photo) before grabbing Jushiro and heading out to the nearest bar. Shunsui did not plan on getting drunk, he just wanted to get pleasantly buzzed so that he could escape the monotony of his mission.<p>

The further down the street he walked, the seedier and crummier the bars and clubs became. One or two strip joints started to appear here and there until it was nothing but adult establishments on the street. Scantily dressed woman were hanging outside of establishments with large neon signs that promised wild vixens or every sort. Some of the women Shunsui saw were wearing clothes that would put even the sauciest of prostitutes back in the Soul Society to shame. There were fewer people down this end of the street and the few that you saw always kept to themselves. Shunsui slowly walked down the street with his spiritual pressure clamped down so as to not harm the locals. Normally if he was in a gigai it would have been done for him, however he had not wanted to wear one while he went of patrol. He was happy that he was invisible to the women on the street as he did not particularly want their attention right now…or ever. There was only one woman he wanted to watch strip her clothes of and perform a show for him and that was Rose. And sadly she was not here.

And the Shunsui saw it, the sky opening up and six hollows emerging out of the darkness that was Hueco Mundo. The six figures landed on top of one of the establishments and looked down at the scene in front of them. By the looks of it they could not sense him. Slowly and Quietly, Shunsui crept up to the building where the hollows were standing on and started to climb it. He knew that it was idiotic to take on all six of them without back up but he knew that if he did not engage them now he would lose a vital opportunity. Besides I knew that reinforcements would arrive as Jushiro and the others would have most likely sensed their presence by now. He just had to delay them until the others arrived. Shunsui jumped onto the roof and landed behind the hollows.

"It seems like we have finally caught you. Must say the six of you have been giving my team and I a run for our money." He said casually while watching in mild amusement as the hollows spun around and faced him in surprise. Shunsui took that moment to examine the six hollows that he had been pursuing for nearly two months. By the looks of it there were four adjuchas and two Vasto Lorde. The first Vasto Lorde had short hair with varying shades of red, orange and yellow which made it look like fire. He was also about two feet smaller than Shunsui and incredible thin. His entire body was covered in white (minus his head and neck) and had red fire marking on it. The Vasto Lorde was also equipped with a whip that seemed to be made of fire. Shunsui knew just by looking at the Vasto Lorde who he was: Fire Lighter. Shunsui also recognized the other Vasto Lorde. She had white wavy hair that reached her waist and her 'skin' seemed unnaturally white. She was wearing what looked like a Kimono with swirling wind patterns on it and had in her left hand a large white fan. This was Wind Slasher and the reason that Shunsui recognised her was that she was infamous in the Gotei 13. She had gained her fame by being able to evade the Shinigami for several decades. Even Shunsui had failed the capture her and he still had a thin scar across his back from where her deadly fan had struck him. She was deadly. Out of the four Adjuchas, Shunsui could only recognize one of them, and that was the one they had been able to identify thanks to the little boys help. The boy's description had been accurate as the adjuchas really did have a face of a shark but the body of a human. Agua Blue looked to be holding a large trident in her hand. The last four Adjuchas were unknown to Shunsui but one of them was brown and looked to be made out of rocks and dirt and held a giant war hammer in his hand. The adjuchas next to him was an electrical blue colour with a giant spear in his hand. And the last hollow wore what looked to be iron armour in his body and a helmet in his head and looked the spitting image of a medieval knight. He was also wielding a large sword.

"Shinigami." Cried out the electric blue hollow.

"Good evening." Replied Shunsui while bowing politely at the hollows. There was a pause.

"What no back-up? Did you really hope to defeat us on your own?" laughed the electric blue hollow.

"Quiet Shocker!" Snapped Wind Slasher, "That is a Taicho class Shinigami and must not be underestimated. Everyone stay on your guard!"

Shunsui drew his two swords and crouched down into a fighting stance. It was foolish of him to take on these hollows without any back up. He could take on the adjuchas easily but the two Vasto Lorde were going to be a problem. He just had to keep them distracted until the others arrived.

"I take it we can't solve this problem peacefully?" he asked

"No. let's take him down!" cried Shocker before charging towards Shunsui. He had been expected the Adjuchas's attack. Out of all the gathered hollows, Shocker was the most agitated and hot headed so it had been easy to guess that he would be the first to strike. Shunsui dodged and ducked out of the way of giant spear being thrusted at him. The hollow's attacks were predictable and elementary. If Shunsui was to venture a guess he would say that this hollow was the weakest out of them all.

"You know you are supposed to be aiming for the Taicho." Replied the Iron clad hollow in a lazy tone.

"SHUT UP Iron armour!" Shouted Shocker, while turning around and facing the iron clad hollow. Big mistake. Shunsui saw and opening and shot forwards and managed to slash Shocker right shoulder. The hollow howled in agony and gripped his shoulder as dark blood started to flow from the wound.

"Stay focused!" snapped Wind Slasher

Shocker made a swipe at Shunsui with his spear but missed. Shunsui darted back and hopped onto a large water dank that was located on the roof. He had been lucky that the hollows had not decided to attack him together. If they came at him one by one then he could probably defeat them, or at least most of them before the rest of his team turned up. It was interesting that the hollows did not attack him together. Although these hollows fought in a group they showed no unity which led Shunsui to believe that these hollows, had circumstances been different, would never have formed a group to begin with. So the question was: who was keeping this band of misfit hollows together? The most likely answer was that the unknown reiatsu was keeping them together.

"Why are you following the unknown reiatsu?" asked Shunsui.

"You mean you don't know?" sneered Fire Lighter.

"If I knew then why would I be asking you?"

"Master was right, these Shinigami really do know nothing." Stated Wind Slasher

"Master…you mean the unknown reiatsu?" questioned Shunsui.

"Just like I said. These Shinigami know nothing."

"Enough talking. Let's destroy him!" cried out Shocker, before crouching down and blasting a cero. Shunsui saw the cero coming and shunpooed out of the way. "Stop running!" shouted the hollow before firing another cero with only resulted in blowing up the water dank. Ice cold water erupted from the tank and spilt down over the side of the building and down onto the street below. Shunsui could hear shout and screams coming from the street below as the prostitutes and seedy men, and women, ran for cover. He needed to eliminate this hollow quickly as his brash attacks were starting to become very dangerous. Shunsui jumped and raised his two sword over his head with the intention of attacking Shocker from the air. The hollow saw his approach and raised his spear up over his head in order to deflect the upcoming attack. The sound of metal hitting metal resonated across the night sky. Shunsui pushed down, trying to force the hollow to concede to him. Shocker started to summon a cero and then blasted it at the Shinigami point blank. Shunsui jumped out of the way and felt the cero just touching the tips of his sandals. If he had not been a Taicho and very good at Shunpo the cero would have most likely hit him. That was close…maybe even too close. He had to stay focused. Shunsui frowned slightly before lunging forwards again. Again and again the sound of metal hitting metal resonated around the night sky as both Shinigami and hollow collided over and over again. After a while Shocker paused to catch his breath. He was panting deeply and gripping his spear tightly while Shunsui, on the other hand, merely pushed the sweat out of his eyes, his breathing totally normal. He had more stamina than the hollow and would most likely outlast him in this sword fight.

"Getting tired Shocker?" teased Iron armour. "You know if you are I would gladly step in and finish this Shinigami off for you."

"Shut up. I can destroy this worthless Shinigami on my own!" the hollow replied before summoning another cero and firing it. Shunsui saw an opening and shot forwards. In one strike with deadly precision he slashed the hollow across the chest, spraying blood everywhere. Shocker looked down as if he could not believe what had just happened to him. ¨

"Wha-what…how…who?" He gasped.

"The name is Shunsui Kyoraku, Taicho of the eighth division." Replied Shunsui while watching the hollow slowly start to disintegrate. There was uttermost silence after Shocker had been defeated. The hollows were either staring at Shunsui in shock or in anger. That Bastard Shinigami had just defeated one of their own!

"You-you-BASTARD!" Shouted the iron clad hollow while pointing at Shunsui. "You-you killed him. You killed him. I'm-I'm going to DESTROY YOU!" The hollow crouched down with the intension of charging forwards.

"Hold it!" Shouted Fire Lighter. Iron Armour stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the Vasto Lorde. "We seemed to have underestimated this Taicho. We can't simply attack him one at the time and hope that he simply collapses with exhaustion. He has shown us that he can outlast us in a sword fight. We need to attack him together, I mean we do outnumber him."

"I'm surprised we did not do that before." Sighed Wind Slasher.

"I was going to suggest it before but then that idiot Shocker went ahead and attacked the Taicho without thinking of a strategy beforehand. And quite frankly I am glade that he is dead, that bastard was starting to annoy me." Replied Fire Lighter. "Now shall we take down this Taicho before his friends turn up? And this time we will take him together. Shunsui gulped when he saw all five of the remaining hollows crouch down. Damn it, he was outnumbered. All he had to do was hold them off and in order to do that he had to up his game. Shunsui unleased his shikai.

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><p>The moment Ukitake felt his best friend's reiatsu explode he started to increase the pace of his shunpo. He had been in Urahara's shop when he had felt the hollows reappear, but sadly it had taken a long time to locate them on the map. Finally, after a bit of waiting around they had been able to locate the Hollows and within seconds they were on their way towards them. Of course Ukitake had long since sensed his friend's presence fighting the hollows but he knew that Shunsui could hold his own for a bit. Because the unknown reiatsu had not made a mysterious appearance yet, the entire team sped off to where Shunsui was fighting a hollows. There had been a general sense of happiness when Ukitake and the rest had felt the first hollow fall. However, their happiness faded when they sensed Shunsui unleash his Shikai. Whatever was going on over there was bad. Ukitake grit his teeth and continued to shunpo forwards.<p>

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><p>Maybe taking on all these hollows on his own had been a bad idea. The first hollow, Shocker, had been easy to kill because he had was weak, but also the other five hollows had stayed back making the task at hand a lot easier. Now that Shunsui was fighting all of them at the same time everything was proving to be a lot more difficult. However, he was putting up a good fight. Agua Blue suddenly appeared in front of him and raised her trident. The sound of metal hitting metal filled the night sky as Shunsui lifted his short sword up to protect himself from the trident. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a huge metal sword swinging through the air. As quick as a flash, Shunsui raised his other sword and blocked the attack. The two adjuchas were pushing down hard on their weapons drying to force the Shinigami to concede.<p>

"Stop trying to fight back Shinigami. Even a Taicho cannot win a battle of five against one." Said Agua Blue

"Forgive me for trying." Panted Shunsui. Damn it where was the back up? If Ukitake had not been able to detect the hollows before I most certainly could now that he had released his shikai.

"You are wide open." Shouted a voice behind him. He turned his head and saw Fire Lighter appear behind him and crack his fire wipe across his back. Shunsui let out a groan of agony before pushing off the two adjuchas's weapons and shunpooing away. He needed to put distance between them and so he shunpooed to the opposite building. Shunsui was panting deeply, his long brown hair was starting to come out of its hair tie and was sticking to his sweaty face. His back was aching as the burn scorched his skin and made it feel like it was on fire. The hollows lined up on the building facing him and sneered. Damn! They knew that he was outnumber and were gloating. Each one of the hollows had had a go at him and every single one of them had managed to land a hit. Of course that was to be expected as the odds were not in his favour. Blood slowly trickled down Shunsui's brow from a deep gash curtesy of Agua Blue. Iron Armour was responsible for the large gash running down his left thigh while the rock covered Adjuchas had managed to break on of two of his ribs by punching him in the chest. And lastly there were a few light cuts all over his body from Wind Slasher's fans and now a terrible burn across his back from Fire Lighter. Even in his Shikai, Shunsui was outmatched. Maybe if he had access to all of his power he might be able to defeat these hollows before they kill him.

While still looking at the hollows, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out his soul pager. "Soul Society this is Eighth Division Taicho, Shunsui Kyoraku requesting that Gentei Kaijo be lifted."

There was a crackling of static_. "Eight Division Taicho your request has been taken into account. This might take a few minutes."_

"What?!" Shouted Shunsui. "I need it right now!" He never normally shouted but right now he was annoyed.

"_I am sorry Taicho but it takes time."_ Replied the rather startled Shinigami on the other end of the line. It was very rare for the Taicho of the Eighth Division to get angry and shout.

"I thought I said that you should stay focused." Hissed a voice in Shunsui's ear. He spun around only to be hit by a powerful gush of wind. In his anger he had failed to notice that Wind Slasher had dashed forwards and managed to get behind him. Shunsui flew through the air and smashed into the opposite building. He gasped as he hit the building and felt his burn protest loudly.

"_Kyoraku Taicho…come in Kyoraku Taicho!"_ came the voice of the Shinigami on the other end of the phone.

Before Shunsui could even catch his breath he saw Fire Lighter appear right in front of him and punch him right in the stomach. Whatever precious breath he had left in his stomach was brutally forced out of him, along with several drops of blood. Over and over again Fire maker punched Shunsui in the stomach drawing more and more blood. However, he was not going to take all of this lying down. Shunsui swung his short sword and felt the satisfying feeling of it making contact with flesh. Fire Lighter, gasped when he felt metal scrap across his chest, spraying blood everywhere.

Shunsui did not even pause as he lifted his long sword. "Iro oni: White." Fire Lighter shouted in agony as Katen Kyokotsu cut right through his right arm, slicing it completely off. Blood erupted from what was left of his arm and sprayed across Shunsui's robes, soaking a good portion of it. There was absolute silence between the Shinigami and hollows for a second time as both sides tried to assimilate what had just happened. Shunsui used this moment of silence to shunpo away from Fire Lighter. The Cero blast had come out of nowhere. Shunsui gasped in pain when he felt his body blasted through the sky only to land painfully on the hard c road down below, sending vast amounts of concrete and rubble everywhere. And then he felt it, the feeling of his full power returning to him. Looks like Gentei Kaijo had been removed. But his body felt weak and battered so how much difference his new powers were going to be was questionable. Slowly, Shunsui got back to his feet and looked up at the four hollows circling above him. Wind Slasher was staring down at his with red hot anger in her eyes. Fire maker was holding what was left of his right arm while cursing loudly at the same time. And that left the last two were smiling. Why were they smiling?…WAIT FOUR HOLLOWS? WHERE WAS THE FITH? Shunsui looked around but he was too late. The giant earth coloured hollows grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up in the air before smashing his body back down onto the ground. Shunsui shouted in pain as he collided painfully with the hard concrete ground.

"Now hurry up and die Shinigami." Said the earth coloured Hollow before throwing Shunsui up into the area and striking him in the back with his Warhammer like he was a ball in a game of baseball. Shunsui felt the heavy hammer hit his spine, a sudden agonizing burst of pain before it all ended. His body collided with the ground but he felt nothing. And slowly the world around him started to blacken. Just before the world went totally black, Shunsui saw Rose's face. She was laughing, her hair thrown back while the summer sun glimmered off her brown hair. She was absolutely beautiful.

"You complete idiots!" shouted a voice. The five remaining hollows turned around and faced a figure wearing a long purple robes with long black hair and a gold mask on her face. "I told you to keep him alive and now you go ahead and kill him! Do you have any idea what you have done?!" screamed the figure.

"M-ma'am." Stuttered the hollows.

"Enough. You were supposed to cause a distraction and NOT kill the Shinigami in the process."

"But he killed Shocker."

"Enough! I can feel the other Shinigami approaching so we had better retreat. But mark my word you will all be punished for this!" Screamed the Masked woman before opening a gargantuan and disappearing into the blackness. The Five hollows glared at each other before following their leader back into Hueco Mundo.

* * *

><p>"There he is!" cried out Lisa while pointing at the ground. Ukitake looked down and saw the mangled, blood covered body of Shunsui lying in the middle of the destroyed street.<p>

"Rukia I want you to go and fetch Orihime. By the looks of it we will be needing her healing skills." Order Ukitake before moving to stand next to his friend's broken body. By the looks of it the hollows had really done a number on him.

"Renji, Ichigo and Lisa I want you three to patrol the area and see if there are any clues lying around. Hana you are the only one here who as a high level of healing Kido. Ca you see what you can do for Shunsui." order Ukitake in a hard tone. Whoever did this to his friend was going to pay. Damn it! Shunsui can't die now. He watched as Hana sank down next to his friend and pick up his limb hand in order to search for a pulse. There was a pause…a long pause…maybe even too long.

Hana looked up at Ukitake with fear in her eyes. "I-I can't find a pulse." She cried out.

"What?"

"I-I think he is dead Taicho…I-I can't find a pulse." Jushiro stared down at his best friend's mangled body and cursed loudly. Damn! if only they had been a few minutes earlier. Damn, Damn, DAMN!

* * *

><p>Back in the Soul Society Rose frowned down at her phone. That was the second time her call to Shunsui had gone straight to voice mail.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Poor Shunsui...and poor Rose. <strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Returning

Chapter 9: Returning

It was one of those rare moments where Rose seriously contemplated murdering someone. She knew from the moment she woke up that morning that it was going to be a bad day. Firstly when she had tried to call Shunsui that morning (It was part of her morning routine) his phone had gone to straight to voice mail…again. She had, of course, left numerous messages for him, ranging from anxious, worried filled pleads, to anger filled death threats that promised him pain the moment she saw him again for making her this worried. Today's message had been the latter kind. Rose had explained in as sweet a voice as possible how she was going to set fire to all his sake and then use that fire to destroy all of his pink Kimonos if he did not call her back. Although it might be a bit extreme but Rose was really concerned. She had not heard from Shunsui in nearly two weeks and she was starting to become worried. Had something happened to him? Was he lying dead in the street? Or maybe he was simply passed out in a strip joint surrounded by a dozen naked, thin and gorgeous woman. In all honesty, Rose did not know which one was the worse. But still something was not right. Whenever she called her lover it went straight to voice mail, but when she called Hana she picked up. Why was Hana answering her phone and not Shunsui, and why was it that whenever Rose asked her friend about this she suddenly had somewhere very important to be. Something was very fishy. As if her boyfriend avoiding her was bad enough, Rose still had to attend the academy…which was turning into a nightmare. Her experience at the academy was exactly like her experience at school (before going to boarding school) i.e it was living hell. The bullies were just as mean…but this time round they were actually allowed to beat the living day light out of you…and the Senseis called this Hakudo class. The fact that Rose was incredibly good at everything class orientated and rather limited in her fighting abilities meant that she suddenly became an easy target. She was the top in the intermediate history class and in the advanced Hoho and Human studies classes but that was it. She sucked at Kido and her hakudo skills were below average. Because she had already attained shikai, Rose had been put into both the advanced and Intermediate Zanjutsu classes because she was just not good enough to fully enter the former and too good for the latter. Due to her rather limited fighting abilities she was been both an easy target to fight in class and verbally abuse outside of class. However, Rose was tough and easily ignored all the taunts. Besides the people taunting her was a small bunch of students.

After trying and failing to reach her lover, Rose departed to the Academy where she had to endure Kido, Hakudo and advanced Zanjutsu classes. And to top it all off she had practise Patrol class, which was a class dedicated to teaching students how to fight hollows (while using dummy ones) and how to patrol the area. It was a waste of time in Rose's mind but sadly if she was going to pass the year she needed to attend that class. Of course because she had to endure Kido, Hakudo and Zanjutsu classes, Rose would always turn up to her Patrol class covered in cuts and bruises.

But what had really made the day sucky one was the fact that she had been teamed up with Airi Fu, a beautiful blond hair girl from a wealthy family who was also considered to be the head bitch of the third year. She was very close to the other head bitch, Hasegawa Amaya, a sixth year who also happened to be president of the Shunsui Kyoraku fan club. In fact Fu was vice president on that disgraceful club. Those two ruled the female part of the academy and it was considered to be a great honour to be 'grace by their presence'. But whenever Rose was close to them she felt like being sick…maybe it was from all the perfume they wore. As if it was not bad enough having to smell them, she had to endure listening to the two of them (mainly Amaya) talk about how they plan to 'sleep with the hunk Kyoraku Taicho' and then become the future 'Misses Shunsui Kyoraku'. It was revolting. But being forced to listen to the two of them talk about sleeping with HER LOVER was not the worst part, the worst part was that Fu hated Rose. She had no idea what she had done but the spoilt girl hated her. Fu came from a very wealthy and powerful family who had ties with both the Kuchiki and the Kyoraku families. She would regularly boast about how she was invited to attend tea parties or dinners with either or both of those families. Amaya had practically foamed at the mouth when she had heard that Fu had actually SEEN Shunsui Kyoraku. Whenever Rose would overhear Fu talk about Kyoraku Taicho she would smile and laugh internally. Poor girl could only dream as Shunsui was already taken. And it was that thought that stopped Rose from strangling Fu whenever they were within meters of each other. Sadly the two of them had been teamed up in patrol duty. At first the two of them had been silent, trying desperately to ignore each other. But after a few minutes of happy silence, Fu had to start talking. And of course the girl started to talk about Shunsui Kyoraku and the fact that he had been away on a mission for close to two months. Rose had been rather shocked to learn that Fu knew about the fact that Shunsui had been away on a mission. But then again she never questioned teenage girls and their stalking skills. They could probably outclass the second division. Luckily she did not know the nature of the mission. Fu went on and on talking about how great a Shinigami and Taicho Shunsui was and how he was strong enough to take on several powerful hollows without getting so much as a scratch on him. It did not bother Rose that Fu was talking about her lover, but it was the way she was talking about him that made her see red. She was talking about Shunsui like he was a piece of meat being sold in a market or something. Rose would be lying if she said that Shunsui was not good looking. He was handsome with intense and yet gentle brown eyes that always managed to draw her in. And of course his body was to die for. But Shunsui's real beauty lay in his personality and character. He was kind and easily lovable with his large smile that never seemed to go away. Of course Rose knew that Shunsui always played the fool, but few knew that the reason he did that was so that people would feel less intimidated by his presence. He was the sort of leader who wanted his subordinates to follow him not because they had to, but because they wanted to. He was so much more than a body capable of making women scream in pleasure for hours.

Fu continued to talk and failed to notice that Rose was glaring at her, wishing her the most painful death possible. It took her some time to realise that her partner was glaring at her. But of course, she mistook the evil glare as one of jealousy. Fu then went on to tease Rose by saying that it was normal for the later to be jealous of the formers luck of having the connections required to spend time with the most gorgeous Taicho of the entire Seireitei.

"It's ok to be jealous Rose. But you see sadly Kyoraku Taicho is only interested in women with certain…skills. And he most certainly is not interested in nerds like you." Said Fu in a tone that tried to be sincere but was in reality a sneer.

"And how do you know which women Kyoraku-Taicho likes?" replied Rose rather curtly.

"Well one simply has to look at his dating record." Said Fu. "He normally hooks up with beautiful women in bars of tea houses who are as dumb as ever. But then he leaves them a few weeks later and moves on to the next woman."

Rose wondered if maybe the reason the women got dumped was because they were too stupid to string two intellectual words together. "I think that only proves that dumb women in bars are not Kyoraku Taicho's type." She pointed out.

"Yes but then you move on to the ones he had longer relationships with." Replied Fu. "There was the purple haired girl from the Shihōin clan. I think she was the cousin of lady Yoruichi. And then there was the yearlong fling with the seventh seat of the fourth division…and her sister. He has also slept with most of the high female nobles. But the most scandalous relationship he has ever had was when he was sleeping with his fukutaicho: Lisa Yadomaru."

Rose stopped in her tracks. Shunsui had slept, no had a relationship with his old Fukutaicho. The same one he was currently on a mission with. Damn that man to hell! He had not even bothered to tell her about it!

"Erm…Rose why have you stopped?"

"How long was he seeing his Fukutaicho for?" asked Rose a little desperately.

"Hmm about ten year. But it was all unofficial as it was an open relationship. You seem awfully interested in this." Replied Fu while narrowing her eyes.

"Well…erm…it is against the rules for a Taicho and a Fukutaicho to see each other." Mumbled Rose.

"Yeah but apparently because it was never official the Soutaicho did not see a reason to force them to break up. Plus they still had a normal working relationship." Shrugged Fu. "But the one thing these women all had in common was that they were either intelligent or a skilled fighter. So I guess you could say that Kyoraku Taicho likes intelligent or skilled women. Thankfully, me being the top of the year, means that I am perfect for Kyoraku Taicho. I mean I am beautiful, I have curves in all the right places." To emphasize her point she juggled her D cup breasts. "I am from a noble family and I am both intelligent and a skilled fighter. You on the other hand, darling, are just bookish smart with rather limited fighting skills and curves in…well the wrong places." Fu looked at Rose bottom and frowned. "Sorry darling but I just don't think you make the cut. Don't worry there are plenty of fish in the sea."

Rose could feel the anger overflowing inside of her. Damn Fu for pointing out how inadequate of a lover she was to Shunsui and damn her lover for not telling her about his past fling with his Fukutaicho. It was ok because she could ignore Fu's comment and had the satisfactions of knowing that she was wrong. But when it came to Shunsui and his…failure to inform her about his past relationship with his Fukutaicho…well let's just say that the next time she saw him there was going to be hell to pay. For the moment, Rose just wished pain on him…excruciating, agonizing pain.

The two of them spent the rest of the patrol in silence and they were both more than happy when they had been allowed to return to their room (or in Rose's case the eighth division). If she hurried she would be back just in time to grab dinner in the mess hall before returning to Shunsui's kitchen and finishing baking the last of the cakes for the ball, which was the following day. It had been rather stressful to bake all the cakes she had been asked to make and if it was not for the help of the first division chefs she might not have managed. All that was left to do was the Chocolate mouse cake, the show stopper and make the icing for all the cakes. Rose would eat dinner in the mess hall and then move on to make the base for the show stopper, which was a miniature cake version of the entire Seireitei. The cake would be layered with the bottom layer being vanilla favoured. The next layer would be chocolate flavoured and the one above that the one would dark chocolate. And finally the top layer would be a delicate dark chocolate and orange flavoured. Each layer would be decorated with small buildings and trees with the first division and all it towers located at the centre. It was a huge cake that would most like take the breath away of anybody who saw it. Sadly a cake like that required work so Rose hoped to get the base done before she went to bed. If she paced herself she could have the cakes done by very early morning before she caught a few hours rest before running off to the first division kitchens in order to finish of the last of the cakes. With a plan made up she increased her walking speed and powered on to the eight division.

* * *

><p>Shunsui knew from the moment Ukitake walked into the room that he was hiding something. Although from the smile on his face he guessed that it was good news. After having woken up from the hollow attack nine days ago, Shunsui had been forced to stay in bed which was to be expected since his injuries had been rather bad. He not only had a deep gash on his tight an several (although not as deep) other ones all over his body, but a third degree burn on his shoulder blades and a fractured spine cord. According to Ukitake, it had taken all of Orihime's strength to fix his spinal cord and to keep him alive long enough for Tessai to finish fixing him. All in all Shunsui was lucky to be alive. But now he was confined to stay in bed while waiting for his back to fully heal. It was annoying and frustrating that he could not help the rest of the team hunt down and capture the hollows and the unknown reiatsu but if he wanted to heal faster he had to stay put. Thankfully Ukitake or Lisa would always keep him company.<p>

"Alright Juu spill it." said Shunsui.

Ukitake looked down at his friend, lying down on a futon, covered in bandages before answering. "I have just received some news from the Soutaicho." He smiled.

"What did Yama-jii have to say?"

"Apparently the hollows and the unknown reiatsu have appeared in the Soul Society and have started to terrorize the inhabitants of the Rukongai." Ukitake continued to smile.

Shunsui frowned. "Why are you smiling Juu? That does not sound like good news."

"The Soutaicho has ordered you, me, Renji, Lisa and Hana to return to the Seireitei so that we can continue our investigation within the Soul Society." Smiled Ukitake.

There was a pause as Shunsui tried to assimilate what his friend had just told him. And then it hit him. He was being asked to return to the Soul Society…to Rose! Shunsui pushed on his arms as he tried to sit up and then let out a gasp of pain as his back started to complain.

"Easy there old friend. You are not well enough to move. I have informed the Soutaicho of your condition and he has told me to tell you that you will stay in the world of the living until you are well enough to move again. In the meantime the rest of us will return." Ukitake sank down next to his friend and gently lowered him back down onto the futon.

"I don't care, Juu, I am going to return to the Soul Society now." Hissed Shunsui while he tried to sit up again.

"Shunsui you are only going to hurt yourself more."

"Juu…I am going to return to the Soul Society now whether or not you or Yama-jii like it. I am not going to lie here without my darling Rose one minute longer. So are you going to help me up or are you just going to sit there and watch me?" snapped Shunsui. Ukitake sighed before wrapping his arms around his friend and helped him sit up.

"You really should not be doing this."

"I don't care. I need to see my darling Rose."

"Even if you could see her I doubt you will be able to…perform as you cannot even move without collapsing in pain." Stated Ukitake.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Jushiro, there are many things lovers can do without having sex. Besides I was hoping that she would take care of me." Shunsui smiled as he pictured Rose wearing a skimpy little nurse outfit holding a plate piled high with her delicious caramel shortbread. Of course she would have to be there to attend to his every need…including helping him bathe. Maybe he could entice her to slip into the bath with him. She would refuse of course…until he convinced her that it would do him the world of good. She would gently shimmy out of her nurse uniform before slipping into the bath…where Shunsui would convince her to do other thing. Oh yes he was looking forwards to the idea of his darling Rose taking care of him.

"But you always seem to just do that with her." teased Ukitake.

Shunsui glared at him. He and Rose did other things together, and yes their day always started and ended with sex but what was so bad about having an active sex life?

"I am only teasing you." Smiled Ukitake. "Anyway there was more the Soutaicho wanted to tell me."

"Which was?"

"Apart from telling me about the hollow movements in the Soul Society he also informed me that he wanted to two of us to return to the Seireitei to attend the annual autumn ball. This, however, changed when he heard that you had been injured. But now since you are so determined to return to the Seireitei I expect him to want you to also attend the ball." Ukitake smiled at the cringe that had appeared on his friend's face. Shunsui hated going to the ball. Not only did he have to put up with his family and the other snobbish nobles who had been invited, but he also had to endure the desperate flirting from every single (and take) women in the building. It was an absolute bore but he would endure it if he was allowed to see Rose again.

"You still want to return to the Seireitei now?" questioned Ukitake.

"Yes. Even if I have to endure the horror of the ball I will still get to see Rose before and after it." replied Shunsui

"And during it."

"What?"

"Rose was asked to help cater for the event and so she was given permission to attend even though she is neither a noblewoman nor a Fukutaicho or higher." Replied Ukitake while smiling at Shunsui sudden determination to get out of bed.

"AHH!" hissed Shunsui. "I get to see my Rose and dance with her throughout the night?"

"Not exactly." Sighed Ukitake. "You see there are members of noble families there who might see the two of you together and start to talk. News of your relationship will then spread to the academy and…well you know the rest" he shrugged.

Shunsui looked crestfallen for a moment. "Well then looks like I will just have to leave the party early with her. Anyway I am known as a notorious flirt and so it would damage my reputation to not dance with every single beautiful lady in the room." He smiled.

"With your back injury I don't think you can even walk out the door yet alone dance." Pointed out Ukitake. "How do you plan on leaving Urahara's place and going to the ball when you can't even move?"

"Easy. I will just take a very, very strong painkiller and get on with it." Ukitake looked aghast by Shunsui's comment. "Juu, I have been lying in this bed for days. My back injury is fixed and I can move my legs just fine. The only thing holding me back is the pain." Sighed Shunsui.

"But Tessai said that you should stay in bed for another few days."

"Tessai is a good healer but he is not Unohana. Look if it start to hurt I will go to the fourth ok." Stated Shunsui.

"You promise."

"Yes."

Ukitake sighed. "Fine then lets get you back to the Soul Society." Before helping his friend to his feet and slowly walking out the room.

* * *

><p>"Rangiku…really there is no need for you to do this."<p>

"Nonsense. You have to look beautiful no matter what."

"What is the point as he is not going to be there anyway?" Rose had hoped that after completing her catering job she would have been allowed to return to Shunsui's quarters and sleep for the rest of the weekend. She had no intention of going to the ball as he was not going to be there. But then again she was so mad at him right now that even if he was there she would be too angry to even talk to him. That damn idiot! Of course Fu's words had haunted her ever since that night. Grr! Rose never liked hearing about all of her past lover's conquests or how she stacked up against them and she especially did not want to hear about it from jealous women. At first it had been Maya who had constantly pointed out how Shunsui could do better. But thankfully Rose now saw very little of her. A few weeks ago Maya had transferred to the third division where her future fiancé (a rich and well placed nobleman) was currently serving in. As far As Rose knew the two of them were going to be happily married by the summer. After Maya had moved the taunts inside the eighth division had all but stopped with just a few jealous ladies spreading nasty rumours. Of course they never said any of the nasty rumours around Shunsui and the only reason that Rose heard them was because she had the 'fortune' of listening to them while she went to the loo. But she could deal with them as she had the support of most of the other division members. The Eighth division was fiercely loyal to their Taicho and they hated to see him sad. During the Kurosawa incident they had witnessed how upset and depressed Shunsui had become and they had vowed that they would never let him get that miserable again. As a result the eighth division had accepted Rose as Shunsui's lover and in many cases had formed bonds of friendship with her. But of course…that was only the eighth division. Outside the walls of the division the women were more vocal about their opinions on Rose's relationship. The Gotei 13 was pretty much divided with people either supporting the relationship or not. Shunsui had told Rose not to worry about it as the only opinion that really mattered was what they thought of each other. And he was right, he loved her and that was all that really mattered. Rose trusted Shunsui with her life…but that still did not mean she liked it when he had been assigned to work on a mission with one of his ex-lovers…and did not tell her about it.

"Oh come on you can't just stay in bed all weekend like a depressed hermit." Said Rangiku while dragging Rose through the streets of the Seireitei.

"I will have you know that I have spent most of today finishing the cakes for the ball. I have had very little sleep recently so I planned on sleeping until Monday morning." Replied Rose while trying and failing to pull herself out of the death grip Rangiku was holding her in.

"What sort of girl wishes to stay in bed instead of going to a fancy ball?" inquired Rangiku before opening the door to her quarters. "I have all the other girls over so we could get ready together." She added while dragging Rose through the house.

"like I said before there is no point going when he is not even going to be there."

"Then tonight is the perfect chance for you to flirt with other gorgeous men." Smiled Rangiku.

"But I don't want to flirt with another man. I want to flirt with Shunsui but he is currently not here and he is not even answering his phone." Pouted Rose.

"Really? He could be getting with other women without you knowing. Come on what is a little bit of innocent flirting?"

"Thanks Rangiku I feel so much better now." Deadpanned Rose

"I was only teasing you. But seriously he has not called you?"

"Nope, I have not heard from him in about two weeks."

"Hmm…all the more reason to flirt with other men. You can punish him for not treating you correctly." Rangiku smiled evilly.

"I can't do that. Plus don't you think punishing him would be going too far?" questioned Rose

"Had been calling you before?"

"Yes"

"How often?"

"…like twice a day….everyday." mumbled Rose.

"And then he just stopped?"

"Obviously."

"Well then he must have done something wrong and naughty boys have to be punished." Again Rangiku smiled evilly.

"You made that sound so unnecessarily sexy."

"It was supposed to sound sexy. You could tie him down and spank him."

"Absolutely not!"

"What I can lend you my handcuffs."

"I…no…stop…too much information. I think I will just yell at him and then deny him sex until I am satisfied that he has been punished long enough." Huffed Rose.

"Yeah but you obviously won't be getting satisfied if you are denying him sex. And trust me the best way to make him squirm is by getting him aroused and then denying him the ultimate release." Giggled Rangiku.

Rose blushed. "No I am not tying Shunsui down and then denying him orgasms."

"Fine then be boring." Rangiku slid open a door and walked in. "Right ladies, I have found the lost and innocent Rose so let the party begin."

Rose entered the room and saw Nanao, Isane, Momo and Nemu all sitting around a large table with makeup and other beauty products scattered all other the place. "What?" She said a little weakly.

"We always get ready together and since you were also invited to the ball we thought you should join us." Explained Momo while putting powder on Isane's face.

"It really is a dull experience but when you go with friends then it make the whole thing all the more bearable." Said Nanao while putting mascara on.

"Oh no, I always find the event to be quite romantic. I mean the dancing, the romance and the fancy dresses." Said Momo with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah…I just go for the free booze." Replied Rangiku before turning to Rose. "I have your dress. It is the blue one lying on the bed."

"Dress?" replied Rose in a stunned voice. She had not even thought of getting a dress.

"Yeah. Nanao and I picked it out for you. We got your measurements and voila… the perfect dress." Smiled Rangiku.

Rose sighed and turned away from the gathered group of girls and moved towards the bed. She really did not want to be there but maybe a night out with friends was exactly what she needed. And then her eyes fell on the dress….


	10. Chapter 10: The Autumn Ball

Chapter 10: The Autumn Ball

**Warning: Mentions of Lemon**

* * *

><p>Whoever decided to make the theme of the evening 'Human World Dress' was an absolute idiot, cursed Shunsui as he walked through the streets of the Seireitei while tugging on the uncomfortable bow tie around his neck. He hated the way his tux constrained his movements or how uncomfortable his dress shoes were. But thankfully he could move sort of freely without his back causing him absolute agony, but that was mainly due to the vast quantities of painkillers he had taken a few minutes ago.<p>

"You know you could always just head back home to bed and I will go inform Rose that you have returned." Said Ukitake.

"No. Anyway that would only result in her getting overly anxious about my minor injury." Replied Shunsui.

"Minor injury? You broke your back." Ukitake stared at his friend like he was mad. "I think it was a bad idea not telling her to begin with."

After Shunsui had regained consciousness he had asked his team (Hana) to not tell Rose about his back injury. He did not want her to worry about him. Plus he knew that she already had enough on her plate and he did not want to add yet another load to it. Besides with the pain killers and the amount of time he spent napping during the day would surely heal his back in no time. And if she did find out he could always down play it to make it sound like he jarred it and then allow his darling lover to 'heal him'.

"If I told her about it she would just worry and that would not have helped the situation one bit." Replied Shunsui as they neared the first division. Men wearing black tuxedos were hanging around the entrance with pretty dressed women either hanging off their arms or standing incredibly close to them.

"Now remember what we talked about." Said Ukitake.

"Yare, yare Jushiro there is no need to remind me. I know that I can't be overly affectionate to Rose when I see her so as not to draw attention to the fact that we are lovers." Sighed Shunsui. His best friend had spent the better part of an hour lecturing him on how he should behave that evening. Besides Shunsui only planed on staying for an hour or so before whisking Rose away and showing her how much he really missed her.

"So what is your plan for tonight then?" questioned Ukitake as they walked into the first division.

"This is a party not a battle field." Replied Shunsui with an extravagant wave of his hand. "I plan on talking to old friends and then squeeze in a few dances with Rose before I drag her back to my bed."

"You know people are going to get suspicious if you only dance with Rose the entire night. Maybe you should alternate between women." Suggested Ukitake.

"Are you suggesting that I should act like a womanizer?" replied Shunsui with a mock look of hurt on his face. The two of them turned left and entered the large ball room which was decorated with reds, oranges, yellows and browns to symbolize the season. There were several tables lined up against the walls with either drink or food on them. There was an orchestra playing music in a corner however nobody was dancing yet…it was too early in the evening. By the looks of it only half the guests had arrived, and those who had arrived were all standing around talking. Shunsui could see his family talking to the Airi clan, another high ranking noble family, and frowned. He really did not want his family anywhere near his darling Rose.

"No, what I meant was that in the past you have acted rather wildly and if you started to act more tamed people are going to talk. Dance with Rose all you like but don't make it look like you are giving her preferential treatment." Said Ukitake. He looked over at his friend and frowned. "Are you even listening to me?"

Shunsui looked back at his friend. "Sorry Jushiro but I'm afraid that I am going to have to leave you." Ukitake looked over his friend should and saw who he had been looking at.

"I wish you the best of luck with them."

"Thanks my dear friend." Shunsui started to walk slowly towards his family. It was rather peculiar seeing his parents and brother out of their formal kimonos, but even in western style clothes they still managed to show off their prestige. His father was wearing what the westerners would call a 'white tie'. This consisted of a black tail coat, black trousers, white shirt, white bow tie, white waist coat, black dress shoes and white gloves. His brother wore almost the exact same thing as his father except his bow tie and waist coat were dark blue. His mother wore a mint coloured full length dress with a poufy skirt and wide straps. Her hair was up in an elegant up do which only highlighted the expensive looking diamond earrings she was wearing. She also wore a huge, diamond encrusted chocker on her neck and a small but elegant tiara on her head. The closer Shunsui got to his family the deeper his father's frown got. But the most striking out of the group was his brothers lover, the lovely Lady Choshi Sakiko. She wore a pale pink, strapless, floor length dress which seemed to hug her body. There was also a moderate slip up the side of her leg to make movement easier. Choshi Sakiko wore simple platinum jewellery that Shunsui's brother had gifted to her. Shunsui liked Choshi Sakiko as she was kind and gently, but he through her too good for his brother.

"Shunsui, what do you think you are wearing?" snapped his father. Obviously Shunsui's black tuxedo, white shirt, baby pink waist coat and pink bow tie had offended him.

"Good evening to you as well father." He replied with a bit of sass in his voice.

"Do not take that tone with your father." Snapped his mother.

"My apologies." Shunsui bowed.

"We were just talking to the Airi dono about Central 46's decision to limit the amount of Rukongai prats that are allowing into the Seireitei to attend the Shino academy. They want to reduce the number of applicants by half and introduce a screening to make sure those prats do not contain any…diseases." Said Shunsui's brother, Sachi.

Shunsui looked over his father's shoulder at the four members of the Airi family and grit his teeth silently. His was not a big fan of the Airi family. The Father (who wore a grey suit and grey tie to match his greying hair) was considered to be one of the most intolerable man in the entire Seireitei. If he was to have things his way, the Rukongai district would be burnt down to make place for the noble's many houses. His wife (tall, long blonde haired woman wearing a tight and revealing silver white dress) was a mere trophy that the husband showed off. However, she, by the cover of night, had many lovers. And then came the children. Shunsui had heard about Airi Fu and had the displeasure of seeing her on odd occasions and receiving the annual Valentine's Day card from her. Every year he received multiple cards from his fan club at the Academy, and although it was nice to know that younger woman had crushes on him it was also rather annoying. Of course, he was not the only Taicho how received love notes from academy students, but he certainly got the most. Shunsui always responded in the same manner: a pink letter with his thanks for their letter. The same went to Fu. However, he still had to put up with her whenever they crossed paths at family functions. The girl follow him around like an annoying blond and giggly shadow. At first he had found it cute but now he just found it exhausting. He dreaded the moment she left the academy and was deemed old enough to get married as he just knew his parents would push him to marry her. The Airi clan was rich, well placed and had lots of power which made their daughter the perfect match for Shunsui in his parents eyes. Shunsui had to admit that Fu was beautiful and talented but he was just not attracted to her. She was the sort of woman who would use her talents and connections in order to manipulate those around her. In fact Shunsui had heard some rather unpleasant rumours about her in the Academy. No, Fu would be a terrible wife for him.

And the last child was a small and rather large boy of about five years old with a sickly sweet smile and a wad of blond hair. Shunsui had not heard much about the boy, but from what he had the kid was spoilt and cruel.

"Pleasure to meet you again." Shunsui bowed at the Airi clan.

"Kyoraku Taicho." Squeaked Fu before blushing and bowing. "A pleasure to meet you."

Shunsui grit his teeth and willed for Rose to hurry up and arrive so that he could whisk her away.

"As we were saying Shunsui, the Academy should limit the amount of riffraff in. It is a prestigious school where the nobles' offspring's go to learn the art of being a Shinigami. We can't expect them to be sullied by the presence of such fifth like those from the Rukongai." Said Kazushi, Shunsui's father.

"Agreed darling, we have no idea what sort of…illnesses those…things have." Stated Yae, Shunsui's mother, with a look that suggested that there was something foul under her nose.

"We should just get rid of those Rukongai things. We give them to option to both submit to our authority and agree to serve us or die." Said Fu's father.

"You do know that the majority of Gotei 13 members were originally from the Rukongai. And if we were to start limiting the number of potential Shinigami from the Rukongai we would be severely damaging the capabilities of the Gotei 13." Said Shunsui. When he got his hands on Rose he was going to drag her back to his house and do unspeakable things to her.

"Oh come on Shunsui, that filth can't contribute that much to the Gotei 13." Said Sachi.

He would then lead her to his bedroom.

"I heard that they even steal things from people." Added Yae

Slowly, oh so slowly he would remove her dress

"Oh how revolting and scary. I no longer feel safe with those filthy things walking around outside my house." Gasped Fu's mother.

Shunsui would then gently lower Rose down onto the bed before removing his clothes.

"There is no need to worry sweetie, I hired those ninja specifically to protect us from those Rukongai filth." Said the Father.

Of course Rose would look over his naked body and blush.

"There is no need to worry about your protection. Central 46 has asked all the Taicho's of the Gotei 13 to keep a tight leash on all of their subordinates who come from the Rukongai." Said Sachi.

Shunsui would then remove Rose's underwear and start to play with her folds.

"That is a superb idea."

She would start to pant loudly, begging for him to enter her.

"Sadly, it might take a long time to implement this propositions." Sighed Sachi.

"Why?" asked Kazushi.

Shunsui would slowly sink his member into Rose's warm folds, her gaps of pleasure music to his ears.

"The Soutaicho is being rather stubborn. He says that the academy and the running of the Gotei13 was his business and nobody else's. He also suggested that we re-think about our prejudices against those who live outside the walls of the Seireitei." Said Sachi rather sourly.

Shunsui would gently thrust into Rose while trying to prolong both their pleasures. God he would need a long round after spending time with his parents.

"Shunsui?" Shunsui looked up at his mother and blinked. "Do you think you could talk to the Soutaicho and see if his views could be swayed?"

"No, I don't think Yama-jii will change his opinions so freely and I also have no desire to talk to him about this as I support his decision whole heartedly." He replied with a hint of steel in his voice. "Please excuse me." he bowed and started to walk away while ignoring his family's snide comments about his views. Sometime he was ashamed to even be related to them.

Shunsui walked over to where Ukitake and Unohana were standing and talking. Without even stopping he picked up a glass of sake and downed it.

"Let me guess…your parents said something that angered you?" asked Ukitake.

"What gave it away?"

"Oh I don't know…maybe the fact that you just downed an entire glass of sake on your way over here." Smiled Ukitake at his friend. "What did they say anyway?"

"Apparently Central 46 wants to half the number of recruits into the Shino academy from the Rukongai as they believe it would 'harm' the noble kids there. They wanted me to talk to Yama-jii and see if he could be swayed." Explained Shunsui.

"I see." Grimaced Ukitake. "Well don't drink too much."

"I plan on getting pleasantly drunk and then leaving with my darling." Replied Shunsui before picking up another glass of sake and taking a sip of it.

"Remember what we talked about on the way here."

"Yare, yare how could I forget when you remind me every five minutes."

The music changed to a waltz and couples started to walk out onto the dance floor. Shunsui watched as his best friend accompanied Unohana out onto the dance floor where they started to dance with such grace and elegance that the onlookers could only watch in awe. They made such a beautiful couple and yet the two of them were both happy the way they were. It was common knowledge that Ukitake and Unohana were an item and yet despite that the two of them did not want to get married. Ukitake had explained it to Shunsui one night when the later had questioned the former about it. He had said that they did not need some priest or a piece of paper to show how much they loved each other. Shunsui respected and disagreed with his friend belief. He knew that the moment he found the perfect woman for him that he was going to marry her and make her his. And finally after many hundred years of searching, he had found the woman he wanted to marry. Rose was his everything. But Shunsui knew that it was too early on in their relationship for a marriage proposal. He would give it two years before he popped the question. Let the two of them act young (well one of them at least) and in love for a while longer. Plus there was no hurry. Moreover with Rose attending to academy it would most likely be a better to wait until she had graduated. Plus, if people saw her one day with a giant diamond ring on her finger they would start to ask questions.

Shunsui put down his glass of sake and started to walk around the room, stopping every now and then to talk to people. Occasionally he would dance with the young noble girls, but he only did that to uphold his previous image of being a Casanova. Although he tried to focus on his dance partner his mind kept wandering off to Rose and he wondered when she would be arriving. Ukitake had said that she would be turning up. He had not taken a tonne of painkiller for nothing. Speaking of painkillers, his bake was starting to hurt again. Not an agonizing pain like that morning, but a dull pain that irritated him more than hurt him.

"Kyoraku Taicho…is something the matter?"

Shunsui looked down at Fu, who just so happened to be his dance partner at the moment and smiled. "Sorry, I guess I am a little distracted tonight."

"That is ok. I am sure that a man of your status has a lot on his mind." Shunsui smiled down at Fu and spun her around before freezing and staring in shock at what just walked into the ball room.

* * *

><p>Rose had to admit that her dress was absolutely beautiful. Apparently Nanao and Rangiku had picked it out for her which had been a shock to discover. The dress was a dark blue, floor length strapless dress with a puffy shirt (not overly puffy). Small silver sequins created a swirling pattern on the bust of the dress and would shine in the moonlight. When asked about the dress, Nanao had said that they had drawn inspiration from Rose's Zanpakuto sheath. Rose's hair was lightly curled and her make-up was at a minimum but the effect was still stunning. When she had complained to Rangiku that there was no point dressing up when there was nobody there that she wanted to empress the blonde had just smiled knowing. In fact all of her girlfriends and smiled knowingly. They knew something and it was starting to annoy her.<p>

The walk to the first division had been a slow affair due to the fact that they all wore high heels but finally they had arrived. Slowly Rose followed the rest of the giggling girls as they headed towards the ball room. She decided that she would only stay for an hour before heading back to Shunsui's house and sleeping until Monday morning. What was the point of dancing with a bunch of men when her heart belonged to another? Admittedly that 'other' was currently in deep shit due to the fact that he had failed to call her for nearly two weeks and had not bothered to mention the fact that he had had a relationship with one of the people he was going on a mission with. Maybe Rose should punish Shunsui. She turned left and entered the ball room and paused, taking in the scene of over a hundred exquisitely dressed people either dancing or talking. She could see Komamura Taicho talking to Toushiro, while a rather excited Yachiru balanced on one of the tables and devoured one of the cakes Rose had made. Her eyes wandered onto the dance floor where she saw Ukitake gracefully twirl and elegantly dressed Unohana around…wait! Rose stared at Ukitake in shock. Why was he here when he should be out in Karakura town with her lover? What was he doing here? And then Rose saw him. He looked so handsome in a black tux and pink waist coat and bow tie. Even his untidy hair made him look godly beautiful. She could feel her heart beating at a frantic pace. Was this just her imagination? And then Shunsui looked straight at her and Rose felt all the air inside of her leave. Those dark brown eyes that she had missed for so long were staring into her soul. If this was a dream then she did not want to wake up. And then Rose saw who Shunsui was dancing with and frowned. What the hell was Fu doing with her hands around HER man?! Shunsui had some nerve if he thought he could not call her for two weeks and then when he finally does turn up he dances with one of the academy's trollope! Oh and he failed to mention his past relationship with his ex-fukutaicho. Rose turned around and flicked her hair before walking towards the drinks table. Damn that man!

Shunsui watched as Rose frowned at him before walking away without looking at him again and sighed. Whatever he had done had obviously angered her but the problem was that he had no idea what he had done. There was no way that she could know about his injuries. Shunsui watched on rather helplessly while Rose started to talk with Nanao. He then watched as a rather existed Hana ran up to his girl and hugged her tightly. How he wished he could do that. He was going to wait ten minutes before going over and asking if she wanted to dance with him. Maybe then he could ask her what he had done to anger her. If he went over there too quickly it would be too suspicious but if he waited it would look like he was being his usual womanizing self. What sort of Casanova would he be if he did not dance with every single beautiful woman in the room? And Rose looked absolutely wonderful. No wonderful was not good enough a word to describe how she looked. In fact no words could be used to describe how beautiful she looked that evening in Shunsui's mind. The hair, the make-up and the dress made her look absolutely stunning.

When the song ended Shunsui bowed at Fu before walking off towards Ukitake, who was taking a break from dancing. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rose talking and dancing with Renji. Green jealously ran through Shunsui at the sight of another man touching HIS woman. He almost, almost when over there and broke the two of them up but thankfully he had enough restrain to stop himself. Instead he stood to the side with Ukitake and conversed about anything and everything with yet another glass of sake in his hand.

"How is your back Shunsui?" asked Ukitake

Shunsui sifted uncomfortable and grimace as a shot of pain ran up his spine. "I think the pain killers are finally wearing off. But I should be fine. Anyway I plan on leaving in an hour anyway."

"If your back is painful then you should head on home. I could always tell Rose where you have gone." Suggested Ukitake.

"No, she will get suspicious and start asking questions that I do not want to answer. And I do actually want to dance with her…of course I will make it look like something innocent." Replied Shunsui. Just then the song ended and Rose stepped away from her dance partner and smiled. "Well looks like it is my turn with Rose." Shunsui smiled at Ukitake before walking off towards his love. Every step he took jarred his back and sent white hot shocks of pain up his spine. One dance with Rose and then the two of them were leaving…subtly of course.

Rose could sense her lover behind her. Slowly she turned around and looked into his dark brown eyes and gasped slightly. They were dark, intense and so mesmerizing.

Shunsui looked down at Rose and smiled. She really was beautiful. "Good evening Ma'am." He bowed slightly. "Your beauty is so stunning that I could not help but be drawn to it."

"Such kind words." replied Rose with a blush on her cheek. She had no idea why he was acting like the two of them had never met before but she trusted him enough to play along. There must be method to his madness…

"I'm Kyoraku Shunsui, Taicho of the eighth division." He took her hand and kissed it before smiling up at her.

"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Rose Bentley."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman." The words were cheesy and bittersweet but Rose still loved them.

"Do you compliment all the women you meet?"

"Only the pretty ones." Smiled Shunsui before adding, "will you do me the honours of dancing with me?"

Rose was just about to reply when she was violently pushed out of the way but a rather busty red head woman.

"But Kyoraku Taicho you promised that you would dance with me." She pouted.

"No he said that he would dance with me." Cried a short black hair woman who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"But he promised me first." The blond hair woman stomped her foot. All girls had one thing in common: they were scantily dressed and had HUGE assets…which they were thrusting towards Shunsui.

Rose looked up at Shunsui and saw that he was looking at her with a sort of desperation and pleading in his eyes. But the damage had already been done. He was pretending that he did not know her just so that he could flirt with all these beautiful women. Well she was going to have none of it!

"Whatever." She hissed at him before turning around and marching away.

"Wait!" called out Shunsui but it was too late.

"Hey forget about her." pouted one of the women.

"Yeah…now about that dance you promised me."

"No he promised me first!"

Shunsui sighed before hissing silently while he felt his back seize up again. Damn…of all the time! All he could was watch as Rose walked through the large sliding doors and out into the beautifully decorated gardens outside.

"Ladies please." He said. "I will dance with all of you but I believe I promised to dance with Unohana and you know how she is."

The women pouted and watched as Shunsui started to walk away. He was going to pretend like he was heading towards Unohana and then when nobody was looking he was going to slip outside and follow Rose.

His plan worked like clockwork and soon he was following Rose's reiatsu. It seemed like she had headed out to find a quite area which he was grateful for as all he wanted to do was kiss her deeply and tell her how much he missed her. Screw his aching back, he was going to go spend some time with his love. Shunsui found Rose sitting on a wooden bench in an area which had not been lit up by the many paper lanterns that decorated the gardens of the first division. The moonlight glinted off her dress while she was bathed in the soft light of the moon. She looked absolutely breath taking bathed in moonlight.

"Rose."

She looked up when she heard Shunsui say her name. "Did you finally decide which one of your fan girls got to dance with you?" she said with coldness in her tone.

"There is only one woman I want to dance with and she is sitting right in front to me." Replied Shunsui while slowly walking towards her.

"Really?" she said rather sarcastically. "From the way you have been acting tonight I would assume that there are several girls you wanted to dance with."

Shunsui froze. "Did you assume that I wanted to dance with those girls?"

"Well I have not heard from you in nearly two weeks so I have no idea what to think. If you were really that bored with me then you could have told me instead of hinting it by flirting with other women." Replied Rose again in a cold voice.

"I would never get bored of you. I love you so much. But you see I had to dance with other women and act like my past self so as not to raise suspicions."

"Explain."

"Most of the guests here are nobles with kids in the Academy. If the two of us started to act like a couple then people are going to talk. We both cannot risk anybody thinking that we are together otherwise our secret is out. So I acted like my past self in order to prevent people from talking. I actually planned on dancing with you before moving on and then returning to you." Explained Shunsui with a hint of desperation in his voice.

That made a lot of sense. Rose placed her head in her hands. "Kami I am such an idiot. I am so sorry for doubting you. Kami why did I not think of that?"

Shunsui closed the gap between them and pulled Rose into a hug, gently pressing her head into his chest. This was where she belonged and this was what he had been missing for so long. "I have missed you so much." He murmured before pulling her to her feet and covering her lips with his. Finally he had her in his arms.

Rose froze for a moment before melting against Shunsui and his kiss. He kissed her slowly and lovingly, his hands running through her silky hair. All the anger and frustration that Rose had been feeling towards this man and disappeared and all that was left was the intense love she felt for him. He was her rock, her stability in a storm…her life. Rose slowly ran her hand up Shunsui's chest, feeling the softness of his shirt under her fingers, until she reached his neck, where she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hi there darling." Smiled Shunsui when the two of them broke apart.

Rose blushed. "Hi."

Shunsui leaning in. "I missed you so much…but that naughty picture you sent me helped me through the long and lonely nights." He nibbled her ear lightly and smiled when he heard her gasp.

Rose did not believe she could be any more mortified. She had sent the nude in the hopes that the two of them would never speak of it. Sadly she had forgotten who she was in love with. Of course he was going to bring it up and tease her about it.

"I am glad you like it." she managed to gasp out.

"Like it? Oh no I loved it." whispered Shunsui seductively. "I loved it enough that I could not look at it without getting hard. Please do sent more of those in the future…especially during Taicho meetings."

"But you will not get any work done."

"Exactly." Murmured Shunsui again before kissing her again, more deeply this time. Rose could feel the kiss all the way down to her toes as she submitted to the wonderful tongue devouring her mouth with expert skill.

"Dance with me." Panted Shunsui. His back was killing him but he was going to dance with his lover before the night was out.

"Yes."

Shunsui held Rose close to his body and the two of them started to sway to the sound of music that only they could hear. Round and round they danced, lost in their own little world with no desire to leave it. Both had no idea how much time had passed but it did not matter. Nothing mattered except for the two of them. Rose gently rested her head against Shunsui's chest and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his heart beating. With moonlight around them it was truly a magic moment. Shunsui could feel is back getting more and more painful but he ignored it…however, there was a growing pain coming from his chest. He hissed slightly after his lover moved.

"Shunsui?" Rose lifted her head up and looked up into his eyes with confusion in her eyes.

No he would not ruin this moment between them. "Nothing Rose." He smiled.

Rose looked at him dubiously and was about to rest her head back on his chest when she saw a slight hint of blood starting to soak through his waist coat. She leapt back and pointed down at the blood. "You're bleeding."

Shunsui looked down at his waist and cursed internally. "Oh that's nothing." He lied.

"That does not look like nothing. Let me see." Rose walked forwards and started to undo Shunsui's waist coat.

"You know I love it when you undress me darling but should we not wait until we return home?" teased Shunsui in the hopes of distracting her.

"Be quiet." Hissed Rose before she pulled his white shirt out of his trousers and lifted it up. At first all she saw was hard muscle and hair but then she saw it, the nasty looking slash across his chest.

"You're hurt." She stated rather weakly before looking up at him with eyes that looked like they were brimming with tears.

"It's nothing." Reassured Shunsui.

"It does not look like nothing." Replied Rose before tucking his shirt back into his trousers. "I am taking you to the fourth division."

"It's nothing."

"I am taking you to the fourth division." Said Rose more forcefully this time.

Shunsui sighed. All he wanted to do was dance with Rose before taking her back to his bed and making love to her. But sadly everything seemed to be preventing him from doing so. Damn everything was going wrong this evening!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hi guys,<strong>

**All I can say is that...my romantic streak came out and I ended up writing a cheesy ball scene. Oh well I hope you like it :) **


	11. Chapter 11: The Fourth Division

Chapter 11: The Fourth Division

"Rose…darling…stop." Said Shunsui as he tried to prevent Rose from dragging him to the fourth division.

"What do you mean stop?" cried out Rose. "You are bleeding from a huge gash on your chest. I am taking you to the fourth division where one of the healers can heal your wound."

"I am not saying no to you taking me to the fourth division, although I don't see why I have to go in the first place. What I am saying is that you should stop before dragging me through the first division." Replied Shunsui while removing Rose's hand from the front of his shirt.

"What?"

"Think about it darling. If people saw you dragging me through the first division they are going to start asking questions." Explained Shunsui calmly which did not reflect how he was feeling inside. If Rose was acting this worried about a small cut on his chest he hated to think how upset she would be once she found out about his back. Then again he had no intentions of telling her about that.

"Your right." Sighed Rose. "God I am just a mess tonight! OK, you are going to walk back to the ball room and leave through the front door. I am going to walk around the gardens and meet you out front. I swear if you do not turn up I am going to deny you sex for a month."

"Rose please don't make such a big deal out of this. Seriously it is nothing." Said Shunsui.

"There is blood trickling down your chest and you say that is nothing?" hissed Rose. "I am going to give you ten minutes to arrive at the meeting place. And if you don't turn up I am going to deny you sex for a month."

"A month?!" gasped Shunsui.

"Yes a month. Now get moving!"

Shunsui smiled before turning around and walking back to the ballroom. His darling Rose giving him orders like that was rather sexy. If only she had been giving him orders while wearing a pair of sexy pink underwear…or better yet, wearing nothing at all.

Roes watched as Shunsui walked away from her before heading off to find the small gate that marked the end of the public gardens in the first division. She found it nestled between two large hedges and as silently as possible she opened it. The gate creaked loudly but thankfully there was no one there to hear it. Rose closed the gate and head off down a small foot path that took her to the first division kitchens. The organized chaos inside the kitchen was such that nobody noticed her slipping passed the open door and down a deserted alleyway which would lead her out of the first division and into a courtyard where she would hopefully find Shunsui. Then, together the two of them could walk to the fourth division and then they could head on home. Rose prayed that Shunsui's injuries were not as bad as she feared. She desperately wanted to know who had done this to her lover so that she could go kick their ass. But for the time being there was a more pressing issue at hand.

Rose arrived in the courtyard and saw Shunsui leaning, rather awkwardly, by the wall.

"Did anybody see you leave?" asked Rose.

"Yeah, I made sure people saw me leave so that they would not ask me where I was later on. I also made sure that nobody followed me here." Whispered Shunsui.

"Good. Can you walk?"

Shunsui pushed off the wall and immediately regretted it as it painfully jarred his back. By now all the painkillers he had taken earlier that day had worn off leaving him in agony. "Yeah." He lied before tucking her under his arm and leading the way to the fourth division.

The closer they got to the first division, the more Rose realised how much of Shunsui's weight she was actually holding. At first she had barely felt it, but then he started to lean more into her thus adding more weight onto her shoulders. Finally it felt like the only thing really keeping him up was the fact that she was supporting him. Shunsui cursed internally as his back finally gave out and he was forced to depend on Rose to keep him upright. Everything seemed to be going wrong tonight.

Finally, the two of them entered the brightly lit fourth division and were greeted by a chirpy nurse.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked. While leading the two of them to an empty trauma room.

"Shunsui has a deep gash on his chest and he is having trouble walking." Explained Rose while helping Shunsui sit down on the bed.

"It is really nothing." Said Shunsui but his words fell on death ears.

"Kyoraku Taicho, could you please remove your shirt so that I can have a better look at the wound on your chest." Asked the nurse.

Shunsui grumbled silently as he tried and failed to remove his shirt. It seemed like whenever he moved his back would seize up again.

The nurse easily picked up on that. "Are you injured elsewhere?" she asked.

"I may have hurt my back but it was not serious at the time so I did not think much of it." lied Shunsui. He could sense Rose's glare and tried very hard to act as if his back injury had really been nothing at all. Why oh why was this happening to him?

"Why did you not tell me about this?" hissed Rose in an almost inaudible voice as she helped him out of his blood stained shirt.

"Because, like I said it was nothing." Lied Shunsui again. He hated lying to Rose but he did not want to make her worry. Also he feared what she would do to him once she found out that he had not told her how injured he actually was. If she was threatening to deny him sex for failing to go to the fourth division he hated to think what she would do to him once she found out that he had been lying about his condition.

With his shirt finally stripped off, both Rose and the nurse could finally take a good look at his wound. It was long and by the looks of it rather deep. Blood could be seen trickling out in areas where the scab had re-opened and the skin around the wound was an angry red colour.

"Hmm, I seems like you have re-opened your wound, sir, but thankfully it does not look infected. I will go and fetch a doctor for you so that he can re-seal it and then maybe prescribe you some painkillers for you back." Said the nurse.

"But my back is not that serious."

"Shunsui, just listen to the nurse." Sighed Rose while the nurse bowed out of the room.

"Rose, you look exhausted." Said Shunsui after a short pause. "Why don't you head on home and get some rest. Don't worry about me." He desperately wanted Rose to leave the room and he knew that the moment the doctor turned up the truth would come out. It was easy hiding an injury from a nurse, but a doctor on the other hand.

"But then who will help you home?" asked Rose while she sat down on the bed edge of the bed.

"I can take care of myself. There is no need to worry about me." Smiled Shunsui.

"Shunsui, you barely made it to the fourth division."

"Yes but with the wound all sealed up and some pain killers for my back I will be well enough to make my own way home." Reassured Shunsui.

Rose was saved from answering when the door to the trauma room opened and in walked the third seat of the fourth division.

"Good evening Kyoraku-Taicho, or should I say good morning?" stated the third seat in a crisp tone that did little to hide the exhaustion he really felt. "The nurse informs me that you have an opened wound that needs to be re-sealed. Also the nurse tells me that you are experiencing pain in your back. This is normal considering the fact that you broke your back only two weeks ago. I must say it is a miracle that you survived and injury like that."

Rose stiffened at the third seats words before slowly turning around to face a horrified looking Shunsui. Oh dear there was not hiding the secret now and by the look on his livers face he was in deep shit.

"Rose." He said cautiously as he could see the rage building up within her. "Let me explain."

"You lied to me." She hissed before getting to her feet. "You said that you were fine. And here I discover that while you were away on your mission…you…BROKE YOU BACK!" she screamed out him. "YOU BROKE YOUR BACK AND THEN LIED TO MY ABOUT IT!"

"Technically I did not lie to you. I just did not tell you about it." Shunsui immediately regretted saying those words as his lover looked like she was about to murder him.

"WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME?!" shouted Rose, her eyes shining brightly and her checks glowing.

"I did not want to worry you."

"DID NOT WANT TO WORRY ME? WELL CONGRATULATIONS IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL!" The poor doctor could only look between the very angry woman and the man in front of him with confusion on his face. It looked like Kyoraku Taicho had not told Rose the truth about his injuries.

"YOU KNOW WHAT, GO TO HELL!" screamed Rose before storming out of the room.

"Rose wait!" Shunsui tried to get out of the bed but his painful back prevented him from doing so. There was silence in the room after that.

"Can I please get started on healing your open wound, sir?" asked the third seat rather sheepishly. He had not intended to cause so much trouble. Why did he always end up with the crazy, complicated patients anyway?

Shunsui looked at the third seat for a moment before answering. "Yeah." He lay back down on the bed, hissing in pain as the movement caused his back to throb. Sadly it looked like he would not be getting any sex that night.

The third seat walked up to the Taicho lying on the bed and started to summon the reiatsu needed to heal the wound in front of him. "If you like I can have one of the nurses go and check on Rose Bentley for you." He offered.

"Please do."

The third seat removed his hands from his patient before stepping back and bowing. Shunsui watched as the man walked out of the room and stopped a passing nurse. Hopefully, Rose was not in such an angry state that she would end up doing something that she would regret later on. Oh man he was in so much trouble.

* * *

><p>The truth was that Rose, in her angry state, had not gone very far. She had merely stormed out of the room and down the corridor to the waiting room. She was so angry at Shunsui, but not angry enough to leave him alone in the fourth. Plus underneath all the anger she still felt worried for him. That man had gone off and broken his back and then insist that it was a minor injury? What had possessed that idiotic man to do such a thing? And then it all came clear in her mind; the two week silence and the awkwardness between herself and Hana. Shunsui had hurt his back and then spent the next two week ordering people to not tell her about it. Rose brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. Her blue dress pooled around her in a giant, yet elegant mess. Slowly she lowered her head and exhaled. Someone had hurt her lover, and hurt him so badly that he could have died. Oh god Shunsui had nearly died. Why, why had he insisted on keeping it a secret? Did he not want to worry her? Of course she would worry after hearing that her love and gotten hurt. Then again maybe Shunsui did not trust her enough with the truth. Rose was not stupid. She knew that her lover had secrets and a past that he preferred to leave in the past. She also knew what it was like hiding a dark past from loved ones because you feared that they could not take it and thus reject you. Rose respected and accepted the fact that she would never be able to full understand Shunsui, but that still did not stop the feeling of hurt and rejection spreading through her. She wanted him to feel like he could come to her for anything. And yet here he was keeping the fact that he had gotten so badly hurt from her. Did he not trust her like she trusted him?<p>

Rose had been so deep in thought that she had failed to notice the little nurse standing right next to her.

"Erm…excuse me." Said the nurse in a small voice while reaching out to shake the person in front of her.

Rose jumped slightly when she felt a delicate hand oh so gently shake her shoulder.

"Ah…I'm sorry." Squeaked the little nurse. She wore the usual pink uniform and had her light brown hair tied up in a high ponytail.

"Don't be, I was deep in thought and did not sense you coming." Said Rose with a forced smile on her lips.

"Oh, that's ok. I was asked to go find you and see if you needed anything."

"Shunsui sent you right?"

"I believe it was the doctor who was tending to Kyoraku Taicho who said that his patient was worried about you. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"That is very kind of you to offer but I would hate to interfere with your work." Replied Rose.

"Oh don't worry the emergency room is empty and all surgeries ended hours ago. So how about a nice cup of tea?" smiled the nurse.

"That would be lovely."

The nurse hurried off to make the tea and returned, a few minutes later, with two cups of steaming tea and a plate piled high with chocolate cookies.

"One of the other nurses made a huge batch of these and brought them in. I thought it would be nice if we had a few." She handed one of the cookies to Rose would took a small bite. The cookie had the right amount of chocolate and crunchiness to it making it one of the best she had ever had…that was not of her own making. Of course her own cookies were the best. With a bit more practise and experimentation the person who made these could make them even better.

"Did you just come from the ball?" asked the nurse.

"Yeah."

"But I thought only nobles, Taicho and Fukutaicho were invited to the event?"

"I was asked by the Soutaicho to help cater for the even and thus I was given the privilege of attending." Responded Rose before taking a sip of tea.

The nurse moved to sit next to Rose. "Wow, how lucky. I have always dreamed of going to a ball and dancing with handsome men." She closed her eyes and smiled.

"It was nice dancing with all the handsome men."

"But I thought that you were with Kyoraku Taicho?" Questioned the nurse.

"I am still seeing him but we had to pretend that we did not know each other." Explained Rose.

"Why did you have to do that?"

"Because if we acted like lovers people would start talking." Said Rose. "You see it is against the academy rules for a student to be dating a member of the Gotei 13. But you see, Shunsui and I were dating I started attending the academy so the Soutaicho ignored the rule on one condition: that we kept our relationship a secret from all the other students. Of course, the Soutaicho knows that a secret like this cannot stay hidden forever so he said that if the other students discover it on their own accord then he would not punish us. However, if we tell the other students then we both will get punished." Continued Rose when she saw the look of confusion of the nurse's face.

"I still find it hard to believe that you are only an academy student. It was very cool of the Soutaicho to allow you and Kyoraku Taicho to continue dating each other."

"Yeah I guess it was." Rose leaned forwards and took another cookie from the plate and took a bite out of it. "Please tell me the truth…how badly hurt was Shunsui?" She asked after a while.

"To be honest, I am not too sure myself as I have not seen his file. But from the reports sent in by Ukitake Taicho he was hurt badly. I take it that you were not told anything" Replied the nurse in a small voice.

"Please tell me how badly he was hurt." Pleaded Rose. It pained her deeply not knowing.

"I-I don't think I am allowed to tell you as you are not family." Stuttered the nurse before pausing and biting her lip. "I guess I could give you few details, but please note that I do not have all the details myself. And please don't let my superiors know that I told you."

"I promise I won't tell anybody." Said Rose.

The nurse looked over her shoulder as if to make sure that nobody was listening to them. "I was on call the night Kyoraku Taicho got hurt. The messenger arrived with a report saying that Kyoraku Taicho had been badly injured in the field. I took the report from the messenger and ran to find Unohana Taicho as I was unsure as to how to proceed. Instead of leaving like she order me to do once I had delivered the message…I-I hung back and listened through the crack in the door. Apparently Kyoraku Taicho had a broken back, third degree burn marks, broken bones and cuts all other his body varying in severity. In fact the only reason he survived his injures was because the human, Orihime Inoue, kept him alive. Because of the nature of his injuries Unohana said that he could not be moved back to the fourth division. However, a team of medics could not be sent to the world of the living as we were already dealing with a huge amount of severely injured Shinigami from the eleventh division. So Unohana sent orders to Tessai, who is very good at healing kido, and told him how to proceed with healing Shunsui. Apparently there was not much more he could do as the human, Orihime Inoue had already healed all his serious injuries. Thankfully Kyoraku Taicho woke up a few days later but he was confined to his bed in order to help him heal. You see a patient with a broken back was stay as still as possible to allow the bones to properly heal. Although I must say it is a miracle that he survived and that he not paralyzed. He was told to stay in bed for another week or two but he refused."

Rose placed her head in her hands and sighed. That idiot! Why had he disregarded what the doctors had told him and raced off back to the Seireitei? Did he not care enough about his health? And more importantly, why would he risk taking himself away from her? That stupid, stupid man! So many emotions were running thought her thus making it impossible for her to think straight. She was angry that he would lie to her about the extent of his injuries and that somebody had dared to hurt him. But she was also upset and worried that he had been hurt and badly at that. Rose did not know if she should punish Shunsui for making her feel so angry and worried, or if she should just hold him in her arms and be relieved that he was alive.

"Thank you for telling me this." Said Rose rather weakly. "At least now I know where to not hit him when I beat him into a bloody pulp." The nurse had a look on her face that was a cross between a smile and a look of horror. "Don't worry." Added Rose. "I'm make sure to beat him up close to the fourth division."

"With all due respect, but do you really think violence is going to solve this?" questioned the nurse.

"No, but it will make me feel better. Besides I have other plans for him."

"I would hate to get on your bad side." Shivered the nurse.

"Normally I am nice." Yawned Rose. "But he really pissed me off."

The nurse looked at Rose for a moment. "You look exhausted. Why don't you get some rest?" said the nurse.

"That is very kind of you but I need to wait until Shunsui healing session is finished."

"His healing session will most likely take a few hours. Why don't you just rest for I bit? I promise I will wake you up once he is done."

Rose looked at the nurse for a bit. "Fine" she sighed. She shuffled up to the nurse and rested her head against her shoulder and closed her eyes. It was only then did Rose realise how tired she was and was asleep within moments.

* * *

><p>It felt like seconds later that the nurse gently shook Rose awake.<p>

"Rose. Kyoraku Taicho's healing session is over. He will be out here in a few minutes."

"How long have I been asleep." Yawned Rose while stretching.

"About an hour and a half. The doctor would like to talk to you before you leave." Said the nurse.

Just then the door to the waiting room opened and in walked a rather sheepish looking Shunsui being supported by the third seat of the fourth division. His shirt was open and his chest was covered in bandages. Both his waist coat, bow tie and tuxedo jacket were folded in his hands. Rose suddenly felt the urge to run over to Shunsui and fling her arms around him and tell him how worried he had made her. But she could not do that so she only glared at him. Let him suffer a bit for all the thing he had done to her.

"It took slightly longer than expected to fix his injuries but he should be ok now so long as he does not over do things. He should stay in bed for a few days and then he can start doing light exercise. Also try to keep his sake intake to a minimum." Explained the Third seat to Rose.

"I understand. Is there anything that I can do for him?" asked Rose.

"Darling Rose is going to take care of me?" said Shunsui in a pathetically hopeful voice.

"You can administer some painkilling kido if he wants it. You should also try to massage his legs and arms so the he does not lose his muscle tone. If there are any complications or you have any questions then please contact the fourth division." Explained the third seat.

"How long until he can move around freely?" asked Rose while glaring at Shunsui. Did he always have to act like an idiot?

"I would say about two weeks until he can move around freely."

"Understood, thank you sir." Bowed Rose before walking forwards and grabbing Shunsui arm and flinging it over her shoulder. Slowly the two of them started to walk out of the fourth division. The night was dark and eerily quiet. The full moon that had graced their presence before was now hidden behind dark clouds. Rose could have shunpooed the two of them back but she did not want to risk hurting Shunsui even more.

"You know darling Rose I asked the third seat if it was ok for us to have sex and he said that it should be ok so long as we don't overdo it. So what do you think you and me…" his voice trailed off when he looked down and saw the look of absolute range on Rose's face. "Rose?"

"Just shut up!" She hissed.

"Please Rose, I'm sorry for what I did." Pouted Shunsui.

"I SAID SHUT UP¨" screamed Rose.

"Now Ros-."

"-You think you can lie to my face about the extent of your injuries and then expect me to just…brush it all aside?!" shouted Rose. "You lied to me and now you are acting like it was nothing. Well guess what it was something and it really hurt!" she could feel tear starting to gather in her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

"Rose." said Shunsui in a kind voice before moving to try and pull her in for a hug.

She simply pushed him away (gently though as he was still hurt). "Don't, I am still angry at you." She said rather coldly

"Please Rose."

"NO! I am too angry now to listen to you." Snapped Rose.

Shunsui sighed but held his tongue. The rest of the walk was spent in awkward silence with the only sound coming from their footsteps on the ground. It was dawn by the time the two of them finally made it back to Shunsui's quarters. With great difficulty Rose removed both hers and Shunsui's shoes before dragging him through the house to his bedroom. Deep down Rose was happy that Shunsui was back but that happiness was currently covered by layers of anger.

With great difficulty again she slid open the door to the master bedroom and moved to deposit Shunsui down on the bed. He groaned slightly as his back made contact with the mattress. Rose unzipped her dress and then walked into the walk in closet only to remerge several minutes later wearing a pair of white pyjamas with cute little brown bears on them. Shunsui's eyes lit up when he saw her emerging from the walk in closet.

"Even while wearing old pyjamas you still look stunning." He said. Rose tried and succeeded in not blush. She walked up to him and started to remove his clothes slowly, one by one. Thankfully Shunsui had enough tack to not say anything while his lover undressed and then re dressed him in sleeping robes. However when he saw Rose start to retreat from the room he felt like he had to object.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I am going to go sleep in one of the other rooms." She replied.

"Why?"

"Because I am still very angry at you. But I can't kick you out of your own bed so I decided to simply leave you in your bed and go sleep somewhere else." Explained Rose.

"What? No come back to my bed, please." Pouted Shunsui.

"Nope."

"So you are just going to leave me here?"

"Yes."

Shunsui looked torn. "Please come to bed with me."

"Nope." Stated Rose before sliding the door shut and walking off down the corridor to one of the guest bedrooms. Even thought she was several door down she could still hear Shunsui cursing loudly.

* * *

><p><strong>I would say 'poor Shunsui' but then he kinda deserved it.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12: Hot Spring

Chapter 12: Hot Spring

His pathetic moaning was getting more and more irritating and he knew that. It was the day after the ball and Rose had just sat down for lunch (cheese, Tomato and pesto sandwich) when she heard Shunsui wail loudly from his room.

"Darling Rose. Please, please, please feed your Shunsui. He is getting rather hungry and sore from lying around in bed all day." Wailed the overgrown baby. Of course Rose knew that Shunsui was only doing this to get a rise out of her. He wanted her to come storming into his room just so that he could talk to her. Well she was simply not in the mood to listen to him right now. She was too angry for that right now. But then again, deep down she still loved him and so did not want him to live in pain. And so the moment she got up (which was about twenty minutes ago) she sent a hell butterfly to Ukitake asking if he could come over and perform a painkilling kido on Shunsui as she did not know how to do one. She could have asked Nanao to do it, but Shunsui also needed to be washed and Rose knew that the woman would not be up for that. Her damned lover had expected her to nurse him back to health, well instead of her he was getting his old friend who would most likely make the experience an awkward one and then bring it up at future events, like birthdays.

Rose had just finished her last mouthful when there was a knock at the door. She got up from the table and made her way over to the front door.

"Ukitake Taicho, thank you for coming over to take care of your friend." Smiled Rose while letting Ukitake into the house.

"No problem Rose. Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"It was definitely a unique experience. I found the gardens to be most enchanting…" Dancing in the garden with Shunsui was possibly the most magical moment she had ever experienced. It had felt so right, so perfect to have his arms around her while they swayed to music that only they could hear. Ukitake looked down at Rose and saw that she was suddenly a million miles away. Whatever had happened out in the garden was definitely a memory she liked. "But I am afraid that my night was ruined when I had to take HIM to the fourth only to discover that his back had been broken a few weeks ago." Continued Rose before adding. "You wouldn't know anything about this would you?"

Ukitake grinned sheepishly. "Shunsui did tell us to not tell you."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Rose. "I knew that you lot were keeping something from me. Oh he is in so much trouble now."

Ukitake looked a little unsure. "So how much trouble is Shunsui in?"

"Lots" smiled Rose a little maliciously while leading Ukitake thought the house.

"Well…don't break him."

"I won't." smiled Rose before opening the door to the master bedroom. Shunsui was lying on his back with the bed sheets hanging low on his hips. His sleeping robe had loosened in his sleep making his chest and all his bandages visible to the world. Rose had to admit that with is hair free from its usual hair tie and his lose sleep robe he looked hot. She would not succumb to his charm. But she could feel her cheeks flaring and her knees becoming weaker. Why did he have this effect on her?

Shunsui smiled widely when he saw who had opened his door. It was nice to see that Ukitake had come and paid him a visit but what was even nicer was the sight of his darling Rose eyeballing him like he was the most delicious treat on a desert platter. At least she still liked him.

"Have you finally come to help your poor Shunsui." he smiled wolfishly at Rose. He knew what effect that smile had on her and was secretly hopping that it would enchant her into bed with him.

Rose tried very hard to glare at him. "From all the moaning and wailing I heard this morning coming from him I assumed that he was in pain. I cannot administer the painkilling kido and I did not want to summon someone from the fourth division. Could you please do it?" asked Rose while looking up at Ukitake.

Ukitake looked between Rose and Shunsui before smiling knowingly. He knew what Rose was planning on doing to his friend. Served him right.

"But, but I only want my darling Rose to heal me," pouted Shunsui again. "Plus I am sure her gentle hands massaging my back will help me heal faster than a stupid healing kido."

"If you think I am healing you then you have another thing coming." Replied Rose with a bit of sass in her voice. Shunsui looked at her and then raised his eyebrow. "I'm sorry did you expect me to play nurse with you when you LIED to me about the extent of your injuries, failed to contact me for two weeks and also forgot to tell me who Lisa was." She put her hand on her hips. "Oh yes, I know all about your past relationship with Lisa." She added in response to his questioning look.

A horrified look passed over Shunsui's feature when he realised what Rose had meant. "Rose. Lisa and I were 'together' over a century ago and it meant nothing."

"Oh really? Then in a few years am I only going to 'mean nothing' to you?" questioned Rose with an innocent look on her face. At first she had completely forgotten about Lisa as Shunsui's back injury had driven it clean from her mind. but now that she had time to sit down and think her past anger at him came back to her…with revenge.

"Of course not. You mean the world to me. I love you and I could never grow bored of you." Implored Shunsui while trying to get out of bed. "Please let me explain."

"No, the time for explanations was several weeks ago when you first told me you were going away on a mission." Rose paused for a moment before lifting a finger up to her chin in mock thought. "Maybe I should just not speak to you for two weeks just to show you how it feels like and then maybe I should go off and have a meaningless love affair and not tell you about it because the person 'meant nothing'."

It was rather fascinating watching all the colour drain from Shunsui's face. "You-you wouldn't." he whispered rather faintly.

"But you have had meaningless love affairs in the past." Teased Rose innocently.

"God damn it Rose! Those were in the past and the woman I slept with knew that it mean nothing." Cried out Shunsui.

"Don't lie to me." Rose examined her fingernails, maybe she should paint them blue? "I know about you relationship with that purple haired girl from the Shihōin clan. And then there was that yearlong fling with the seventh seat of the fourth division and her sister and those were certainly not 'nothing'.

"Rose, please come over here and let me explain it all to you. Please." Pleaded Shunsui rather quietly.

"Like I said the time for explanations was weeks ago. Besides I am having way too much fun teasing you." Smiled Rose wickedly before turning to Ukitake. "I have a few errands I need to run. Do you think you could watch over him while I am gone? I know that you are a Taicho and so you do not have to do what I ask. But I don't want to leave him alone."

Ukitake smiled at Rose. He knew that she would never cheat on Shunsui and that her threats were just teasing. Teasing which had worked very well for his best friend was now practically foaming at the mouth. "I will stay behind and look after him."

Rose bowed and turned to leave. Just as she was walking out the door she called back. "Don't worry if I am out for a very long time as it might take longer than expected for me to find a pointless lover." She giggled quietly when she heard the laughter and loud cursing coming from the master bedroom. Oh yes, getting revenge on Shunsui was going to be a lot of fun.

Ukitake watched as Rose walked out of the room before turning to face his friend.

"So how is the 'she will nurse me back to health' going?" He teased.

Shunsui glared at him. "It was all working out perfectly well before my stupid wound opened up. After that Rose insisted on taking me to the fourth division and as you can probably work out she is not happy about me not telling her that I hurt my back."

Ukitake sat down on the edge of the bed. "So what did the fourth division say?"

"That I was lucky that I did not damage my back again. I also have to stay in bed for the next few days and then I am allowed to do light exercise."

"You really are an idiot, you know that."

"I desperately wanted to see the love of my life. I do not see why everybody is so angry at me when I did everything I possibly could to see the one thing that mattered to me most. Kami, you have no idea how much I missed her." huffed Shunsui.

"But then why did you not do what I suggested which was going back to your quarters and waiting for Rose there?" Questioned Ukitake.

"Like I said before, I did not want to worry her…and I also wanted to dance with her and allow her to experience something that she had never done before." Sighed Shunsui. Rose had once told him that she secretly wanted to go walking or dancing in the moonlight. The beautiful full moon, the ball, he did not want to spoil it for her. "Do you think she meant it when she said that she was going to go out and have casual sex?" he asked his friend.

Ukitake looked at Shunsui like he had gone insane. "What do you think?" There was a pause. "Look I know for a fact that Rose was only teasing you. But you really need to have more faith in her." He scolded.

"Hey, I am stuck in bed right now while she is free to do whatever she wants."

"I just said that you need to have more faith in her." Ukitake sighed when he saw the worried look still on his friends face. "When she comes back the two of you need to talk."

"That's if she ever wants to talk to me again."

"Oh stop acting all depressed Shunsui, you and I both know that Rose is going to speak to you again. The questions is how long that is going to be. When she gets back I am going to ask her to talk to you. What you need to do in the meant time is think of a very good apology for her." sighed Ukitake. "Now…do you want some painkilling kido or not?"

"Nah, I think I will be fine. Although some food would be nice. My darling Rose may be very talented at baking but she lacks the skills…and the patience, to cook a proper meal." Replied Shunsui with a grin on his face.

"I'll go make you some miso soup."

"Thanks Juu."

* * *

><p>It had taken Rose a long time to get used to the idea of public baths. In England one simply did not bathe naked with other people around them, especially strangers. The idea of other people seeing her naked had always managed to bring a blush to her face. However, thanks to the numerous (forced) trips to the hot springs by Rangiku, Nanao and Hana, Rose had been able to grow accustomed to it. Normally, she would use the small hot spring back at Shunsui's quarters, which comprised of a simple hot spring and bath house, but the public baths had more facilities. There were both mixed and divided hot springs located both indoors and outside. There were also steam rooms and places were you could get a massage. And lastly there was a small tea shop which sold the best orange tea Rose had ever tried. Although she preferred Shunsui's singular hot spring because of the privacy, the public ones did have some benefits i.e it was away from Shunsui. Rose was going to give it a few hours before she returned to her annoying lover and hopefully then the two of them could talk. Sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms had been unusually difficult and only made her realise how much she missed his presence. When he had been away on the mission there was still his scent imbedded in the sheets so all she had to do was close her eyes and imagine that he was there with her. But in the guest room the sheets did not smell like him thus making her feel alone and disconnected. Never again did Rose want to feel alone. Moreover, while lying alone in the guest bedroom, Rose had been plagued with worry and concern. For all she knew Shunsui could have slipped into a coma or died in his sleep and she would not have known. She needed to hold him, or at least hear his heart beat just to stop herself from worrying.<p>

Rose exhaled and sank lower into the warm water. Shunsui always managed to wind her up whether or not he was trying or not. Be it the way his smile had her heart skip a beat or when he prevented her from being annoyed at him for long periods of time. At least being able to sit back in a warm hot spring away from Shunsui enabled her to gain some much needed perspective on events. Firstly, was it really that big of a deal that he dated a bunch of people and then did not tell her about it? Sure it had annoyed her that he had failed to tell her that he had been asked to go on a mission with his previous Fukutaicho which happened to be one of his ex-lovers. But like he had said, they had been together over a hundred years ago. The same could be said to all the other not so casual relationships he had had. They were long in the past. And as for the many one night stand, well they were one night stands. It all boiled down to whether Rose had a right to be angry at Shunsui for his past lovers. If someone had asked her that morning, she would have said that she did have a right to be angry at him because as his lover she should know about his dating history. But now that she had time to think about it she really did not have a right to be angry at him because she had never told him about her dating history. It was very hypocritical of her to expect him to tell her his dating past when she did not extend the same curtesy. Sure she had never been with anybody in between being Kurosawa's sex slave and meeting Shunsui, but he did not know that. For all he knew she had been with someone. It was then that Rose realised that what made her so angry was not that Shunsui failed to tell her about Lisa, but that he thought their past relationship to be so worthless that it did not warrant being mentioned again. Deep down, she was scared that he might do the same thing to her. Simply brush her aside when a new, hotter version of herself came by.

Moving on, there was the issue of Shunsui not telling her about his broken back. Here there was no question about it, she had every right to be angry at him. That idiot gets a major injury and then orders people to not tell her about it because he did not want her to worry. What sort of lover would she be if she did not worry when her significant other got hurt? Worst yet, he had gone about pretending that it had not been a serious incident. That damned idiot! Rose splashed the water in front of her in irritation. Of course she was going to worry. She was going to worry about him even if he got a minor injury. How could he not expected her to worry about this? Did he not trust her enough to tell her the truth?

She sighed and slowly started to sink down into the warm water. This was all so frustrating. It was only then did Rose realise that she was not alone in the hot spring. By the sounds of it there was a bunch of giggling girls in the bath as well. The public hot spring was U shaped with thick bushes around the edges. Rose was sitting with her back to the side of the hot spring while the giggling girls were sitting on the other side of the hot spring, concealed by the bushes. She was never one to listen to gossip, but the girls were talking so loudly that she had no choice but to listen. In fact the girls were talking so loudly that Rose was surprised that she had not heard them sooner.

"Tell us about the boy you got with last night and tell us everything." Said the girl with a high pitched, musical voice

"Well...he bought me a drink and then we started to talk." Giggled the second girl with a sultry voice.

"Oh come on, don't hold back on us." Pleaded the last girl with a slightly husky voice.

"Yeah, like what did the two of you talk about?" asked the high pitched girl.

So by the sounds of it there were three giggling girls. Rose did not have to listen in as the girls were talking so loudly the men on the other side of the divider could probably hear them.

"Oh we talked about everything and anything. He complimented my eyes and said that they were the most magical he had seen. One thing led to another and I was sitting in his lap. We were still talking and I remember saying to myself 'well this is nice'." Explained the sultry voice girl. "But it was really weird at one point."

"What do you mean?" asked the husky voice girl.

"At one point his mates started to turn up and give him high fives and slip him more drinks…it was so awkward but I was like 'hey free drinks'." Sighed the sultry voice girl.

"That does sound weird." Agreed the husky voice girl

"Anyway. At one point he convinces me to go outside. I swear the moment I step outside he is all over me, but not like in a gross way, in a nice way. His hands were up shirt but I did not mind as he was massaging my boobs in the nicest way possible." Giggled the sultry voice girl.

"OMG he got to second base with you while you stood out in public?" snickered the high pitched girl.

"No, not in public…just out of sight down and alleyway."

Rose slowly shook her head. She knew that she had no right to judge the sultry voice girl but all she could think was that girl was a total slut. Getting with a boy just because he bought you free drinks was so immature. Rose was so thankful that she had never behaved as such. Yes, the odd boy had bought her drinks before but she had never gotten with them in return. She knew that it was idiotic but she needed to feel something for the person she was going to sleep with.

"So did you only cover second base down the alleyway?" asked the husky voice girl.

"OMG I can't believe you just asked me that Trish." Cried out the sultry voice girl before breaking out into annoying giggles. Ah, now Rose knew who one of the giggling girls was. Patricia Chang, or Trisha, was from a very wealth but not noble family. Her father was an arrogant businessman who owned nearly all the retail shops in the Seireitei. Her mother used to be a famous model and THE woman to have at functions and parties. Both parents had hoped for their daughter to either join the retail world or become a model however those dreams had been crushed when she had developed high level reiatsu. Trisha Chang was currently an unseated officer in the ninth division while also doing a few modelling jobs on the side. Her modelling was usually rather low key, a few covers for her father's business, or maybe a picture or two here and there for the more informal Seireitei magazine. Even though the modelling was low key, whenever a picture of Tricha Chang was published the boys came running. It must be because of her uniquely husky voice, luscious blond hair and beautiful 'eyes' that attracted all the boys. Rose did not really pay much attention to her. So long as she stayed away from her Shunsui then the two of them would be fine.

"You have been known for doing a lot more than second base in an alleyway." Pointed out Trish.

"Yeah. I heard you had sex with that guy from the sixth division round the back of that bar out in the Rukongai." Said the high pitched girl.

Having worked out who was one of the girls, it was easy for Rose to put a name and a face to the other two. There were only two girls who hung out Trisha Chang and that was Sabrina Wells and Tiffany Coulter. Both of Sabrina's parents had been Shinigami, and very powerful ones, however one night a long time ago they both departed on a mission and never came back. Sabrina was then sent off to live with her uncle who happened to be a close business partner of Trisha Chang's father. As a result both Sabrina and Trisha grew up together and became very close friends. It was sad because Sabrina always acted like such an airhead when in fact she was very intelligent. Why did she do this? Answer: in order to fit in with her group of 'friends' because apparently having a brain was considered to be ugly. Sabrina was not ugly, however she other two friends were stunningly beautiful and so she was constantly compared to them. It was sad really. And then there was Tiffany Coulter. Rose could write a multi volume book on that girl. There was no other way of putting it, but the girl was a slut. She had long black hair with blue highlights and hazel coloured eyes. With her sultry voice and hypnotic looks it was easy to see how she got so many men. Rumour had it that she had an orgy with married men while their wives watched on. Many people had compared her to Rangiku, but she was nothing like her. Firstly Tiffany was easy while Rangiku was anything but. Moreover one was considered classy while the other cheap. All three of the girls were members of the ninth division and only one of them (Sabrina) was a seated officer.

"But anybody would have done that. I mean did you see how hot the guy was. Anyway I was telling you my story. So after a while the boy in the bar started to take me back to his place, which happened to be the eighth division. Honestly I have been to the eighth division so many times I might as well transfer there." Sighed Tiffany

"You should. Then at least you get to serve under a hot Taicho." Encouraged Trisha. Rose decided to ignore the comment about her lover. Besides she would be lying if she said that he was not good looking.

"Maybe I should. Anyway so this guy, who was by this time very drunk, was leading me to his room and I was thinking to myself 'I hope you are able to perform'. But then I realised that he was from the eighth division and they always perform even when drunk. I mean, even Kyoraku Taicho had been able to keep it up for much of the night when I was with him several years ago and he had drunk more than the boy who took me home." Giggled Tiffany.

Rose felt her blood run cold. So Shunsui and that slut had shared a bed in the past. Deep down she knew that she should not have been surprised. But it still hurt to hear that…harlot had slept with HER lover.

"I forgot you got with Kyoraku Taicho." Said Sabrina.

"You should totally get with him again." Encouraged Trisha.

"I wish I could, but he is currently dating that little bitch, Rose Bentley. I mean, who the hell does she think she is? She seduces the hottest bachelor in the Seireitei with her sad story of being a sex slave and then she leaves him for a year before coming crawling back to him. Kyoraku Taicho could do so much better than that harlot." Said Tiffany.

"Agreed, she is just so plain. And her butt is massive, like, what does she eat all day? All the junk food in the world?" added Trisha.

Rose was practically vibrating in the water while she attempted to control her anger. She knew that people still thought her too plain to be sleeping with Shunsui but it still hurt to hear them say it. Yes she had gained weight over the year they had been separated and yes she did hate how big her bottom had become but did people really have to talk about it. Shunsui loved her new butt size and claimed that he always loved a girl with curves and that Rose's had always been in the right place. He would always kneed the 'delicious' globes and smile widely down at her before murmuring in her ear that he loved her no matter what size she was. Rose was not fat…just big bottomed. It also hurt that the giggling girls were talking about her past with Kurosawa. No matter how hard Rose tried her past always seemed to come back to her. She had thought that telling people (i.e Shunsui) about Kurosawa and finally living in a world where he did not exist would finally allow her to get some much needed closure. Yet all it had done was bring more pain as people forced her to relive her terrible past through their 'harmless' gossiping.

"Do you think it's true that she tricked him into loving her?" asked Sabrina.

"What do you mean by tricked?"

"Like, she bribed him into doing it. She could have some information on him and is thus blackmailing him into sleeping with her." explained Sabrina.

"Sabrina…you read too many romance novels. Nobody ever does that and plus, what sort of information could she have on him? No I think she is lying to him and that she is only pretending to love him just so that she could get her hands on all his money." Stated Trisha.

"Yeah, I heard that Kyoraku-Taicho's family came over to try and convince her to leave him alone. Apparently she said that she 'loved' him and that it was not his money that she was after. Kami what a lying bitch." Sighed Tiffany. "You know I feel sorry for Kyoraku-Taicho. I mean he can do so much better then Rose and yet he seems to think that she is there to stay." She added.

"I know what you mean. I mean a Taicho of the Gotei 13 should not be affiliating himself with a known whore." Agreed Trisha.

"Do you think she asks for money after the two of them have sex?" giggled Sabrina.

"I would not put it passed that whore." Stated Tiffany.

Rose's knuckles were turning white as she clenched her fists tightly. She did not know if she wanted to strangle those three bitches or start crying. Is that really what people outside the eighth division fought of her? She felt dirty, like her blood was black and brown with dirt. Of course she had heard these rumours, or something similar of the sort, while out and about. But at least those times she had been with Shunsui or Hana and they had been able to give her the support she needed. But now she was all alone and defenceless against the onslaught of hurtful gossip.

"We should talk to her and tell her to leave Kyoraku Taicho alone." Stated Trisha.

"Yeah, we should save him from that whore. Maybe we should force her to transfer to a different division." Suggested Sabrina.

"No I think that lying, fat, ugly, plain skank could do us all a favour and just leave the Seireitei and get a job as a whore on the street. I mean she has had practise asking money for sex." Giggled Tiffany.

Rose had had enough, she yanked her towel off the side of the hot spring and stood up in the water. Now that she was standing in the water she could see right over the bushes that lines the side of the water and the three giggling girls sitting in the water. All three of the girls stared up at a glaring Rose.

"What do you want bitch?" asked Tiffany with sass in her voice.

Rose glared at the woman before turning around and storming out of hot spring. Behind her she could hear a chorus of giggles coming from the girls. Rose yanked on her clothes before storming out of the changing room and down the corridor to the reception area. The reception was large and circular with chestnut coloured wood on the floor and walls. Right at the centre of the room was a large mosaic of different shades of blue. Rose marched up to the receptionist and plonked her towel down on the counter. The receptionist smiled up at Rose.

"Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed your visit and please come again soon." She smiled. Rose bowed in thanks before turning around and walking out of the room. Come to think of it that woman was very pretty. Maybe she had been a previous bed partner of Shunsui? Rose growled in frustration as she realised that she was now going to have to ask herself if the woman in front of her had been a previous bed partner of Shunsui's whenever she was out and about. So many emotions were running through her making her want to scream in frustration. Why? Why could people not leave her alone? Rose had plans to go out shopping for the rest of the day but now she was simply too angry to do that. With nothing better do to she headed back to Shunsui's quarters. Hey, maybe she could just beat him up. At least it would make her feel good.


	13. Chapter 13: A Much Needed Conversation

Chapter 13: A much needed conversation

**Warning: Lemon**

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><p>A few day had passed since Rose had overheard the conversation between Tiffany, Sabrina and Trisha and ever since then she had avoided and shunned Shunsui like the plague. She was so angry at him that she was scared that she would say something that she would later regret. That man, that idiot, why did he think that he could get away with what he had done to her?! Shunsui had tried to speak to her, begging her to listen to his side of the story, but Rose wanted none of it. Although she ignored him, it was never to the point of neglect because ever though she was mad at him she still loved him. Every morning she would make him a simple breakfast of porridge (one of the few things she could cook) and serve it to him while he lay in bed. He would always try to use that moment, or any other moment she was in the bedroom to talk to her, but she would always ignore him. Ukitake would then turn up to give his friend some pain killing kido. Rose always liked it when Shunsui was under the influence of pain killing kido as it resulted in him either being sleeping or drowsy for most of the day. She liked it because it was getting harder and harder to walk away from the bedroom. His calls for her were getting harder to ignore and Rose could feel her restrain breaking. Sleeping in the guest bedroom was torture. In fact the day before while Shunsui was sleeping Rose crept into the bedroom and lay down next to him, just for a few hours while she savoured the feeling of him next to her. But by the time he woke up, she had already gone. However, Shunsui could feel Rose's residual body heat in the sheets next to him, and smell her distinct scent. She had been there, next to him. But even though she had been there next to him it was the fact that she had left that bothered Shunsui. He knew that he had been an idiot and he seriously regretted omitting to Rose about his injuries and his past relationship with Lisa. But beyond that he had no idea why Rose was angry at him. She had returned from her day out and had refused to even acknowledge him. It was making the atmosphere in the house rather miserable.<p>

On a more positive note, his back was slowly getting better and although it hurt, terribly at times, he did not need a constant supply of pain killing kido. With that being the case it means that Ukitake no longer graced Shunsui's morning with his presence and thus the atmosphere in the entire house had gone from miserable to downright morbid. At least when Ukitake was there Roe tried to pretend that there was not a giant black cloud hanging over top their heads. But now that Ukitake was gone the dark cloud had descended and consumed everything and everyone in the house in absolute misery. It was really not that pleasant. So Shunsui felt the need to do something drastic to resolve the situation. He was going to wait until Rose arrived with his morning porridge and then he was going to act. Enough was enough.

Right on time, Rose opened the door to his bedroom and walked in carrying a tray with a large bowl of porridge, tea pot, mug and a small stack of letters on it. Shunsui fainted being asleep and waited until Rose had deposited his breakfast down on the bedside table before he moved to grab her hand. Rose shrieked in surprise as she felt a large, warm hand enclose around her wrist. She tried to struggle out of his hand but his grip was too strong.

"Stop struggling Rose." said Shunsui threw gritted teeth as her sudden movements was causing his back to ache.

"Let go of me."

"No, Rose, we have spent too much time avoiding the subject so it's about time we sat down and talk about it." said Shunsui while letting go of Rose's hand.

"You want to talk about it?!"

"Yes, I know that you are angry at me for not telling you about Lisa and my injuries and you have every right to be so. But then you go off, and when you come back you are apocalyptically angry at me and I have no idea what I did wrong. Please tell me what I did wrong so that I can try to make it better."

Rose simply glared down at Shunsui. "You want to know why I am so angry at you?" Her voice was barely higher than a whisper causing alarm bells to go off. Whatever he had done to annoy her had obviously seriously pissed her off.

"Tell me." He pleaded

"I am so sick and tired of women talking about how they have slept with you, or wish to sleep with you while they know that I am I the same room. I hate it that whenever I see another woman I have to stop and ask myself if you have slept with her in the past!" Rose's voice had started off as a barely a whisper but with each word her voice grew louder and louder until she was practically shouting at him.

Shunsui frowned deeply. So it was gossip that had angered his darling Rose so much. And not just any gossip, but gossip about his past conquests. He knew that she was more affected by gossip than he was, mainly because it was mostly directed at her. He hated that people's inconsideration for other's feeling and their cruel words were what was holding his relationship back with Rose. If he had known that his wild past would have caused this much trouble and pain in the future for his one true love then he would never have done it. He had been no saint, that was true, but Rose also had to learn how to move past silly gossip. Gossip like that was below her and she should know that. What random people thought of her did not matter. What matters was what her friends thought and they all supported her relationship with him.

"Rose, I'm sorry that you had to hear such horrible things, but you have to remember that they are only jealous of you. I want you to-."

"No, what I want is to not have to question whether or not you slept with the woman I pass in the street!" cried out Rose.

"Now Rose, please listen."

"No."

"Listen to me." Said Shunsui in a commanding tone that made Rose go silent. "I am sorry that you have to put up with all this gossip but you need to remember that people are only jealous of you. But you need to ignore them otherwise you will never be able to get over it."

"How can I ignore it when it follows me wherever I go?" hissed Rose. "Everywhere I fucking go there are little bitches who talk about either you and me or you and so other woman. It's bad enough that the girls in the academy talk about your sexual adventures like it's their goddamned business. But the worst part is that I can't say anything in defence otherwise I could spill the beans about our relationship. Do you know how frustrating that is?! But now I can't even go to the public baths without having to endure some, some bitch talk about how the two of you shared a passionate night in bed together." Hissed Rose.

"Who did you overhear in the bath house?" asked Shunsui with a frown on his face.

"Tiffany, that bitch Tiffany was gloating to her friends about how she slept with you!"

Shunsui looked rather confused for a moment before speaking. "Tiffany? You mean that girl who is always found hanging around the up and coming model?" Rose eyes turned murderous so he quickly added on, "Rose, I have never slept with Tiffany and trust me I would know if I had."

"Like you remember all you sexual adventures. From what I have heard half the time you took a woman home from a bar you were pissed drunk. Forgive me for not believing you when you say that you have not slept with her." Rose's tone oozed with sarcasm.

"Trust me when I say that I would have remembered sleeping with her." implored Shunsui.

"Enlighten me." Hissed Rose.

Shunsui struggled to sit up properly but after a few seconds of painful shuffling he managed to sit himself up in bed. "Contrary to what you believe, some gossip does reach me ears. Apparently Tiffany leaves her underwear with every man she ever slept with, and it is always the same black lace, crotch less panties. I think she uses her panties as a sort of signature in order to prove that she had been there. I think all the males in my division either stick them on their door or on their wall to show that they have slept with her. It drives Nanao-Chan crazy. Now Rose, tell me, have you ever come across a pair of black crotch less panties that do not belong to you?" Asked Shunsui.

"That does not prove anything. You could have simply thrown them out."

"Are you seriously going to believe the words of a random woman over the words of your lover?" asked Shunsui in an incredulous tone.

Rose was silent for a moment. "You did not tell me about Lisa." Her words were quiet but she may as well have shouted them as they seemed to bring with them a ringing silence. Rose could feel her eyes begin to sting as tears began to form. "Do you have any idea how much you hurt me?"

Shunsui felt absolutely horrible. He could see the pain he had caused shine in his lovers eyes and it destroyed him knowing that he was the one who had caused it.

Rose refused to cry in front of Shunsui and so she turned in order to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Shunsui.

"Out." She whispered.

Shunsui knew what she was doing and he also knew that avoiding the situation would not do either of them any good. The words for the binding spell had left his mouth before he had any time to think about it.

Rose stared down at the glowing gold rope around her waist and then glared at Shunsui. He had used a restraining Kido on her?! She started to tug and pull of the rope stubbornly, refusing to accept that she was trapped in the same room as her annoying lover.

"Rose listen to me."

"No!" snapped Rose while tugging on the rope.

"You have to understand, I-." started Shunsui in a tired voice but was interrupted by Rose.

"-listen to what? You trying to explain that the women you were with meant nothing to you?" cried out Rose.

"Rose-."

"No! I refuse to listen to you." She shouted, anger boiling through her veins.

"Rose-." repeated Shunsui in a stern voice that showed that he was reaching the end of his patience. Her loud voice was starting to vibrate through his aching head.

"And what about Lisa? Are you going to say that she meant nothing to you? The two of you had a very long relationship in the past." Continued Rose in a loud voice.

"Shut up!" cried out Shunsui his deep voice vibrating through Rose. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her and truth be told she was a little scared. His eyes were dark, but not with lust or passion like she was used to seeing, but with anger. His facial featured also darkened and his posture (even though he was sitting in bed) became more angular and menacing. The air became thick and heavy with reiatsu as the man in front of her released some on the tension and frustration inside of him. It was at that moment did Rose realise why people feared Shunsui's anger. His featured all darkened and he developed an aura of menace around him. Of course, Rose was only experiencing a hint of Shunsui's true anger but if she was starting to feel intimidated by a mere fraction of his anger then she hated to see what he was like when enraged. She stared at him wide eyed for a moment, debating whether or not to run and hide. Shunsui stared at her for a moment before exhaling and slumping forwards. The intense darkness of his features immediately disappeared making Rose sign in relief. Her lover could sometimes be a terrifying man. Rose could see all the way down his heavily bruised back, making her heart clench at the sight. It was not only the dark purple and black bruises on his back, but the many gashes, each of varying deepness that crisscross across his back.

"Listen to me," said Shunsui in a tone that lacked its usual humour and was rather strained. "I never slept with Tiffany, or any other of her friends. I don't know why she is going around saying that we did, but believe me we never did. And as for the other women you mentioned, well some of them were long term relationship but they never lasted because neither her nor me believed that our relationship was any good. Now, about the other girls, it was just sex or a means to make the long nights more bearable. Both parties knew what to expect from it. And when I say that they meant nothing to me does not mean that you mean nothing to me. You mean everything to me, why is it so hard to believe?" Shunsui paused, trying to catch his breath. Rose could see the strain on his face and realised that he must be in pain. "And as for Lisa," continued Shunsui after he had steadied his breath. "I will not deny that we slept together but that was a very, very long time ago and it was a loose relationship. Sure we would sleep with each other, but we also entertained other people. I was going to tell you about her, but I just never found a way to. And if you think that the two of us got back together while I was in the world of the living then you are very mistaken. I do not want her, I only want you. The entire time I was there all I wanted was to hold you in my arms. And what do I get? Weeks of having to listen to your friend and her lover going at it every single night while I lay in bed trying not to remember what it was like making love to you as it simply hurt too much. And when I finally get you, you ignore me and avoid me like the plague." Shunsui punched the mattress beneath him out of frustration. "Do you have any idea how frustrated I am?" He did not look up when he spoke to her. "I endure hours of pain in order to see you and when I finally got to hold you in the gardens at the first division, well let's just say that I never wanted to leave. And then you discovered about my back and I felt so guilty. I never wanted to make you sad but I just did not think that telling you about it would do us any good." Shunsui looked up at Rose with eyes full of so many raw emotions that it made her heart stop for a moment. "I just want to hold you tightly in my arms and yet I am stuck here in bed. Please believe me when I say that I love you. And I think that me, enduring hours of agony just to see you should prove to you how much I love you."

Rose looked at Shunsui and exhaled. The raw emotion in his voice and the way his eyes stared at her, through her, it was intense and oh so hot. How could she resist him when he was looking at her like that, like she was his centre of the world? Rose had missed Shunsui and the night she spent lying in one of the guests rooms had been torture. She missed his heat, the way she could hear his heart beating under her ears, his smell and his breath across her face. Staying away from him was hurting the both of them so why not just end all the pain and suffering and just accept his apology? Rose slowly walked towards Shunsui, her sleeping robe flowing around her. She watched as he looked up at her walking slowly towards him with the same intense look on his face as before. Rose gently cupped Shunsui's cheek before speaking gently.

"It is hard to believe that I mean something to you when I constantly hear stories of you sleeping with countless women. I mean why me? Why do you want to be with me when there are so many other women?"

"You are unlike any other woman I ever met. You are not afraid to challenge me or express your opinion which makes you real and not fake. Also you don't want me for my money or to advance your career. You are an extraordinary woman, Rose Bentley and whenever I am with you I have to mentally pinch myself to make sure that I am not dreaming." Replied Shunsui in a gentle voice before turning his head and kissing the inside of her hand. "I love you."

"I-I love you too…you idiot." Replied Rose before bending down and kissing him deeply on the lips. Shunsui hands wrapped around her waist and pulled, trying to coax her into straddling his waist. Rose gasped when she felt herself behind pulled onto his knees. Her hands latched onto the front of his uniform in order to steady herself as he deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing slowly, erotically with hers. Rose moaned slightly when she felt Shunsui kiss her along her jaw and then down her neck.

"I missed you." Murmured Shunsui against her neck while he slightly sucked and licked her.

"I missed you to." Panted Rose, her fingers moving to lace into his long, soft curls. She always loved touching his hair. It felt silky soft under her fingers.

"I want you." Muttered Shunsui.

"But your back."

"I want you, need you more."

Rose pulled away from Shunsui's insistent lips and looked deeply into his eyes. His chocolate brown eye stared back at her with a longing she had rarely seen from him. "Ok" she whispered.

Shunsui growled before pulling Rose down towards his lips and kissing her ferociously. He kissed her long and hard, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth, leaving her with swollen lips. Rose gasped when she felt Shunsui tug at her sleeping robe, pulling it right off her shoulder to pool at her waist in order to expose her naked chest.

"You have no idea how many times I dreamed about doing this to you while I was in the world of the living." Growled Shunsui before latching onto one of her pink nipples and sucking it hard. His order hand came up to cup her other breast in order to give it some equal attention. Rose gasped and thrusted her hips forwards as small pleasure shocks ran up and down her spine. Oh how she missed his kisses.

"Kami I like sucking on your tits." Muttered Shunsui as his teeth delicately tugged at Rose's nipple making her gasp and moan out loud.

"Don't be so crude." Blushed Rose.

"What? I love your breast. They fit perfectly into my hands." Explained Shunsui before kissing his way over to Rose's other breast. "And your nipples fit delightfully into my mouth." And to prove his point he enclosed his warm mouth around her pink nipple and sucked. Rose gasped and arched her back, allowing him to fit more of her breast into his mouth.

"Shunsui." She moaned lovingly as yet another surge of pleasure flowed inside of her.

"Rose." growled Shunsui in response.

"We should…stop…your back…" Moaned Rose while she started to grind her pelvis against his. She could feel his erection digging into her thigh and that only increased the pleasure she was experiencing. But sadly, as much as she would love to continue she also had to factor in that her lover was recovering from a serious injury. Sure he was getting better but he still had difficulty moving.

"Then you will just have to be extra careful with me." Mumbled Shunsui around the nipple that was in his mouth.

"But…"

"I want you Rose." She stopped moving and looked straight into the dark brown eyes of her lover. He was looking at her with such burning passion that it made her want to melt on the spot. That look, which was the look of someone who could promise hours of delight with just his fingers and words. It was criminal.

Shunsui's pulled off Rose's sleeping robe leaving her completely naked on his lap. He lowered one of his hands and touched her clit, making her want to cry out in delight.

"Kami, you are so wet." And to prove his point he rubbed her clit hard and fast. Roes wailed as glorious pleasure swept through her, making all rational thought disappear.

"Tell me you want me." Whispered Shunsui right next to Rose's ear.

"I-I…AHHH-I…want you." Panted Rose. She was close, so close

Shunsui stilled his hands making Rose want to cry out in misery as the glorious pleasure she had been experiencing disappeared inside of her.

"Then take me." Rose did not need to be asked twice. With has much care as she could muster (which was surprisingly a lot) she removed her lover's sleeping robe. His member sprang free and stood, tall and proud between them. Rose gulped, she had forgotten how big he actually was. And he was not only big, but thick too. It was an amazing that she actually fit him all in.

"Admiring the view?" teased Shunsui while raising an eyebrow.

"You know me too well." Replied Rose before wrapping her hand around his large base (she could not fit all of it in her hand) before pumping him slowly. Shunsui let out a shuddering breath before resting the back of his head against the headboard. Rose suddenly remember the effect she had on this man. Slowly and with much care she lowered her mouth down and ran her tongue up the underside of his member. Shunsui inhaled sharply. Oh man that felt good! Rose ran her tongue up and down Shunsui's member before taking his tip into her mouth. His mouth fell open as a silent cry of pleasure left his mouth. He always knew that his darling Rose was deadly good when it came to oral. His fantasies never seemed to give her credit though. But then again reality is always better that fantasy.

Rose sucked him off for a few more minutes before rising back onto her knees, his now glistering member positioned at her entrance. "That was fun, but I have something else in mind."

Shunsui opened his cloudy eyes and looked at her. "You may do whatever you see fit. Just remember to be gentle." Rose nodded and slowly started to insert him into her core. His member pressed against her folds before being gently forced into her. Shunsui groaned as the feel of her hot, wet core slowly started to surround him. Oh man he had missed this. Rose started to pant loudly as more and more of his erection started to fill her. It bordered on pain and pleasure making her mind go into overdrive. It was almost too much. Her muscled were protesting both the pleasure of being stretched so wonderfully and the pain that came with it. And then she felt him press up against her cervix and she knew that she had managed to fit him all in. Rose stilled on top of Shunsui, allowing her body to become re-accustomed to the feeling of being filled so wonderfully. Slowly the pain started to turn to burning hot pleasure. She could feel everything, the fullness of her core and the hard muscles of his thighs held tightly between her legs. Rose leaned back on her arms in a position that made her seem like she was offering her clit to Shunsui. Slowly she raised her hips up and brought them down again making the two of them groan. Over and over she raised her hips up only to bring them back down again making the pleasure the two of them were experiencing wiped out all thoughts beyond what they were feeling. Nothing mattered, no bitchy gossip or surprise exes, nothing except for the two of them. Shunsui gently rested his finger again against Rose's clit making her howl in intense pleasure. With him touching her clit and the wonderful sensation of impaling herself on his member Rose came. She cried out loudly as her inner walls started to contract deliciously around the member inside of her. Shunsui waited until she had finished before reaching his own completion. With a throaty growl he emptied himself into her before collapsing back onto the bed. it had been too long since the two of them had had sex. Rose removed herself from his now flaccid member and collapsed onto the bed beside him.

"I missed this." Panted Shunsui while he tried to regain his breath. Rose merely hummed in agreement. It was not a full on earth shattering orgasm nor a sweet and gently one, but it will do for now. The burning desire and need she had been developing inside of her ever since Shunsui had returned had, for the time being, been satisfied .

Shunsui looked down at his love and saw that her breathing had even out. It was also then did he realise how pale and worn her face look. This made him concerned. "Rose, have you not been sleeping well?" he asked.

Rose pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked at him. "Not really. I keep having terrible nightmares about you." She yawned widely. "I feel so tired".

"Nightmares?"

"Terrible ones."

"Tell me."

Rose looked at Shunsui and shook her head. "I'll tell you later. Right now I just want to go back to bed."

Shunsui smile in understanding and opened his arms wide for her. Rose looked slightly worried. "What about your back? She asked.

"Miraculously I feel so much better. I thinks it is because of this new pain medicine I have only recently been prescribed." He grinned wolfishly at her. "And I must say that the woman who gave it to me looks absolutely wonderful in the nude."

Rose blushed. "You serious about this?"

Shunsui nodded his head and started to try and lie down. Rose shook her head but there was a smile on her face. She gently helped him lie down and then she positioned herself next to him, her head resting on his chest while her arm hugged him loosely.

"You ok?" she asked.

"So much better." Replied Shunsui.

Rose exhaled and slowly closed her eyes. It did not take long for her to drift into a deep and peaceful sleep. Shunsui smiled at himself for a job well done in resolving the tension between himself and his love. He closed his eyes and soon he joined Rose in peaceful sleep. Everything between them at the moment was fine. But the question was: was it going to last?

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><p><strong>Hi Guys, Sorry about the late update but I had a lot of work that I had to finish. Anyway I hope you guys like the new chapter. :) <strong>


	14. Chapter 14: Confrontation

Chapter 14: Confrontation

**Warning: Lemon  
><strong>

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><p>It took a full week for Shunsui's back to heal properly and by then everything between him and Rose had calmed down. However, now that he had been cleared for duty he could re-join the team set up to hunt down the hollows and the unknown reiatsu. Thankfully there had been no new sightings and because of that Shunsui was spending his day how he usually spent them, napping in the office while waiting for his darling Rose to return to him. He may be free to do nothing all day but sadly she still had the academy to attend. Although he secretly (or not so secretly) loved it when she returned from the academy thus allowing him to sweep her up into his arms and kiss her deeply. His cute little academy student.<p>

Shunsui yawned and stretched out on the couch in the office. He had settled down for a nap a little over and hour ago while Nanao-Chan completed the paperwork. He knew that he should help her with it, but he simply was not bothered to at the moment. Plus it was a Friday afternoon and thus not the time to start any work. Moreover, Rose would be returning from the academy in a few minutes and he did not want to waste any of his precious time with her on paperwork.

The door to the office slid open and in walked Lisa with a two mugs of tea in her hands. Shunsui face fell slightly when he realised that it was Lisa and not Rose would had just entered the office.

"Here you go Kyoraku-Kun." Said Lisa while handing him a mug of tea. He could not help but notice that she had only made tea for the two of them and that she had given him gunpowder green tea which he greatly disliked.

"Yare, Lisa-Chan have you really forgotten that I dislike gunpowder green tea?" Teased Shunsui while watching the look of horror spread across her face

"I-I will go and make you another cup." She stated rather quickly before heading off towards the office door.

"And this time make enough for Nanao-Chan. She also does not like gunpowder green tea if you have forgotten." Called Shunsui before chuckling to himself. Ah Lisa-Chan. She was not always this forgetful.

"Taicho, you really do not have to tease her like that." Blushed Nanao. She too had realised that Lisa had left her out but she had not wanted to bring it up. Plus it was only tea.

"But if I didn't tease her like that she would question whether something was wrong between us. You must have been too young to remember, but Lisa and I used to tease each other all the time."

"You also used to sleep with each other." Muttered Nanao.

"Nanao-Chan!" exclaimed Shunsui with a mock look of horror on his face. "How did you know? Weren't you a little young back then to know what two grown-ups who are in love do when they are in bed together?"

"You forget Taicho, I grew up in the barracks. I knew what a threesome was before I even learned what sex was. I fact I think that unseated officer you sent to teach me about the birds and the bees was rather pointless." Stated Nanao in a matter of fact tone while picking up another sheet of paperwork from the stack.

"What makes you say that?"

"I kept asking questions and pointing out the mistakes she was making." Nanao paused for a moment before allowing a small smile to grace her lips.

"What?" asked Shunsui in a suspicious tone.

"When she said that sex was something that two people did when they were in love I pointed out that you and Lisa had sex constantly and you two most certainly did not love each other in the way she was implying. I then asked her if sex was called the same thing when there were two, three or even four people involved." She chuckled.

"So that is why she resigned the next day…and why I suddenly had to explain 'things' to you." Smiled Shunsui.

"You did not explain anything to me as you simply went to the library and returned with a book about sex for me."

"Yes but can you imagine the looks I got from the librarian. I mean there was I, the notorious womanizer of the Seireitei checking out a book on sex."

Nanao giggled. "I could imagine that the scene was rather comical."

"It was."

The door to the office slid open and in walked Rose carrying a large stack of books in her arms.

"Darling Rose!" exclaimed Shunsui while leaping off the couch. "Let me take those heavy books for I fear you might collapse under their weight." Rose rolled her eyes but allowed her overexcited lover to take the book in her hands and deposit them down on his messy desk.

"Good afternoon Ise Fukutaicho." Bowed Rose

"Good afternoon Rose, I hope you had a good day at the academy." Replied Nanao

"It was ok." Replied Rose while heading over to Shunsui's desk in order to organize it. "My 'history of the Gotei 13' Sensei has assigned us some coursework to do. It has to be on the formation of Central 46 so I was going to do my work on whether or not the growing political instability between the small clans in the Soul Society contributed to the formation of Central 46."

Nanao lifted her eyebrow. "Is that not a little advanced for the third year student?"

"A bit, but I like a challenge. Plus I am used to doing hours of research before answering an essay question. If I don't do that then I feel like something is missing." Replied Rose. She had already organized Shunsui's correspondences into personal and work piles.

"My darling Rose is so intelligent." Stated Shunsui before he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hello there darling." He said after placing a sweet kiss on her lips.

"Hi Shunsui." replied Rose. She kissed him.

"If the two of you are going to continue like that then I suggest you take it elsewhere." Stated Nanao rather curtly.

Shunsui smiled down at Rose. "Later when we get home." He promised before leading her other to the couch and sitting down.

The door to the office slid open and in walked Lisa carrying a tray with three mugs of tea on them. "I hope you like orange tea because that was all there was. " She stated. "Oh…Rose, you are back."

Rose looked over at Lisa and saw her face flash in anger. She remembered how the first meeting between the two of them had gone.

_Earlier that week_

_It was like a typical eighth division drinking party as in people drank copious amounts of sake while dancing, talking and generally being merry. There definitely had been a cause for celebration as the Taicho of said division had just been given a clean bill of health earlier that day which had resulted in the division throwing a surprise party. The Taicho of the eighth division was currently lounging back on a large pile of pillows with a sake dish in one hand and a bottle in the other while engrossed in a deep conversation with his ex-Fukutaicho. Because Lisa had been part of the mission that Shunsui had been leading she had been asked to return to the Soul Society along with him and the others in order to finish it. Only Rukia, Ichigo and the other humans had been asked to remain in Karakura town. Shunsui and Lisa were using the time she had in the Soul Society in order to catch up. They had not spoken since the Winter Wars._

_"I still find it surprising how little the eighth division has changed since I was last here." Stated Lisa while taking a swing from her own sake dish._

_"Oh, I don't know, I think that there has been some changes. I mean now the paperwork actually gets down." Replied Shunsui. He watched in mild interest as a group of his subordinates tried to beat Rangiku in a drinking contest. He wished them all good luck._

_"The paperwork only gets down because you have a diligent fukutaicho who either does it for you or makes you do it. What happened Kyoraku, you used to be lots more fun? But now you have become a boring old man." Laughed Lisa._

_Shunsui pondered her words for a moment. Had he really become boring? But then he saw Rose walking towards him, wearing a beautiful pale pink yukata with a pattern of white butterflies on them and a gold sash around her waist. She had also done her hair up in a high ponytail allowing her beautiful brown tresses to dance around shoulder. Watching her made Shunsui realise how totally unboring his life had become ever since his darling had come dancing into his life. Every day with her was always fresh and new. Sure he may have dialled back his drinking and actually done some paperwork but he had always thought of those as good changes._

_"I don't think my life has become boring. It has changed, but not become boring." Replied Shunsui. Rose was carrying a plate of food in her hands piled high with all of his favourite foods and cakes. He knew that she had had a hand in planning for this party as most of the deserts had been baked by her. Was she an angel or not?_

_Lisa followed Shunsui gaze and saw that he was staring at a woman in a pink yukata with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. "I take it that the woman you are currently staring at is Rose Bentley."_

_"Yes that is Rose Bentley, the most beautiful woman in the entire universe." Smiled Shunsui._

_Lisa pulled a face and watched as Rose approached the small podium where Shunsui was lounging and started to climb the small steps._

_"Are you enjoying yourself Shunsui?" asked Rose as she sat down next to him._

_"I am enjoying myself more now that you are next to me." He replied before leaning over and kissing her on the lips. The kiss resulted in several wolf whistles from the other division members._

_"Thanks for organizing this." Whispered Shunsui in Rose's ear._

_"What makes you think that I had a hand in this?"_

_"The desserts are all your own creations. I will have to thank you later by doing-." Shunsui's words were most certainly naughty as they caused Rose to turn a spectacular shade of red._

_"Oh Shunsui you really do have a way with words." she replied rather breathlessly._

_"Just you wait until I turn those words to actions."_

_Lisa cleared her throat loudly which made the two lovers turn to face her. "Ah yes, Rose this is Lisa Yadomaru my ex-fukutaicho. She is currently here to help with the mission I have been leading." Explained Shunsui._

_"It is a pleasure to meet you." Rose bowed her head at the woman on the other side of Shunsui._

_"Same." Replied Lisa with a smile on her face._

_Shunsui looked between the two ladies and smiled on the inside. It seemed like the two of them would get on just fine. He had been a little nervous about introducing the two of them as he had not been sure how Roes would react. But it seemed like his fears had been for nothing._

_"Well ladies, I am going to go make the rounds." Shunsui stood up before pouring himself some more sake._

_"Ok, but please don't drink too much as I want you in working conditions by the end of the night." Said Rose._

_"Don't worry about me darling."_

_Lisa looked between Rose and Shunsui before bursting out laughing. "Don't tell me she has you drinking less. Kyoraku-Kun you are so whipped."_

_Shunsui just shook his head with a smile on his face before walking off the podium. Rose watched him try and convince Rangiku to get off one the table she was currently dancing on and smiled. He really was a kind man._

_"So tell me Rose, who did you manage to get the Shunsui Kyoraku so whipped?" asked Lisa after a while._

_"I don't know what you mean."_

_"I mean that when I last saw him after the Winter War he was still a womanizing drunk that slept with any woman he came into contact with. But now, a few years later I see that he has become more tamed. How did you do it?" asked Lisa._

_Rose blushed. "I-I am not sure. I just asked him to stop drinking so much and he did."_

_"Were you wearing clothes when you asked him?"_

_"Yes, why do you ask?"_

_"Because I found that getting naked was one of the best ways to convince him to do anything. That and other darker promises that would make you blush." Lisa took a sip of her sake._

_Rose suddenly pictured Lisa and Shunsui in bed together having wild, crazy sex. It made her rather jealous._

_"Any way I have not seen you around. Which division are you in?"_

_Rose looked at her for a moment. "Technically I am in the eighth division but I am also an academy student."_

_Lisa spat sake she had just sipped before breaking down into uncontrollable laughter. "You-you are an-an academy student?! God no wonder Kyoraku is head over heels for you. Tell me has he ever asked you to wear your uniform to bed as it was always one of his fantasies to sleeping with a student. Kami, he would even ask me to put on my old uniform when we used to sleep with each other. So tell me, how did an academy girl like yourself not only become a member of the eighth division but also land the most sought after man in the entire Seireitei? Did the two of you meet after the Winter War or before them?" She asked_

_"I'm sorry but what was the Winter War?" asked Rose._

_"Are you kidding me?"_

_"No."_

_Lisa looked like she was either going to laugh or burst out into tears. "Wow, you really are a SLAG."_

_"A what?"_

_"A Silly Little Academy Girl, SLAG." Replied Lisa with sweet smile on her face._

_Rose glared at Lisa as anger bubbled inside of her before getting to her feet and walking off with as much dignity as possible towards Shunsui._

_"That's it SLAG go and ask Kyoraku-Kun to protect you." Said Lisa with a smile on her face. She watched as Rose said something to Shunsui before the two of them started to head for the exit with their arms around each other. How pathetic they both looked._

_End _

Rose had been a little upset by Lisa's words but she had not taken what she had said to heart as she had rationalized that the woman had been drunk. Or well that was what she had hoped. But then why the flash of anger?

Lisa walked up to the coffee table and deposited the tray down on the surface before handing out the tea.

"So Rose, did anything interesting happen at the academy?" asked Shunsui in order to break the ice that had descended in the room after Lisa had entered. Rose leaned into Shunsui's shoulder and rested her head on the crook of his neck.

"The usual. A group of boys in the year above thought it would be funny to open the cage containing the large, southern Rukongai grass snake which is found in one of the Kido classrooms. Luckily it did not get very far, and even so…it does not have any teeth so it's not like it can hurt anybody." Explained Rose before tucking her feet up next to her on the couch and sinking more into Shunsui's side.

"Southern Rukongai Grass snake does not need teeth to kill, my darling Rose." Explained Shunsui. "They spit out a sort of glue which immobilizes their prey. After that they simply dislocate their jaw and swallow their prey whole while it is still alive. Why does the academy have a snake in one of their kido labs anyway?"

"The snake's glue can be used as a mild numbing agent after being boiled for several days. I believe that the advanced healing kido class were using the snake to make their own numbing agent."

"And how does my darling Rose know so much about Southern Rukongai grass snakes?" inquired Shunsui.

"I may be terrible at kido but I am not a complete imbecile." Teased Rose

"That's a relief to know." Interjected Lisa. Rose and Shunsui had been so engrossed in their own little world that they had failed to notice that Lisa and sat down in the couch adjacent to theirs. Her comment had been really unexpected and had hurt Rose on some level. Did this woman really think of her as a silly academy student?

"Now, now Lisa-Chan play nicely." Lightly scolded Shunsui in a teasing voice. He really was not that shocked by her comment as he knew her character. She was the type of girl who liked to tease people, but her teasing was never malicious. In fact the way in dealing with Lisa was to not take what she said seriously.

"I was only teasing, Kyoraku-Kun, man you really are no fun now." Smiled Lisa. "I mean can you imagine my shock when I went to 'the Saucy Maiden', your favourite bar, only to discover that you had not been there recently."

"I have been recovering from a terrible back injury." Defended Shunsui.

"Yes, but the bartender said that he has not seen you in four months. What happened to you?"

Shunsui gently ran his hand up and down Rose's shoulder in a soothing manner. "Well I was in the world of the living for approximately two months and before that…well…my little darling Rose was keeping me rather busy." He gave the woman in question a light tap on the bottom causing her to blush.

"Wow Kyoraku-Kun, you really are whipped. I must give a round of applause to your girl for taming you. It must have been rather difficult considering your wild needs." Smiled Lisa behind her mug of tea.

"Oh I think you will find that darling Rose here is enough to satisfy me." Rose would have objected to Shunsui's words put she soon found his lips covering hers in a deep and loving kiss. All the air that had been inside her lungs seemed to have disappeared.

"No, if the two of you are going to sit there doing inappropriate things then I must ask you to leave." Snapped Nanao, her voice making the couple break apart. "Do I have to remind the two of you what I said a few months back about public displays of affection in the office?"

"I see you are as prudish as ever Nanao." stated Lisa rather off handily.

Nanao looked at Lisa and blinked in surprise. That comment was rather unexpected.

"I-I-I." she stuttered, unable to find a word to say.

"Come on Nanao, you really need to lighten up a bit. Just because you don't have a sex life right now does not mean you have the ruin it for everybody."

Rose stared between Nanao and Lisa with a light frown on her face. From what she had heard the two women in front of her had been very close in the past. And yet from the way Lisa was addressing Nanao you would think that they hated each other. She looked up at Shunsui to see if he had noticed anything and saw that he was mindlessly staring out the window. By the looks of it he had neither heard nor cared about what had just been said.

"If you must know I do have a personal life, I just choose to not dangle it around in public." Replied Nanao before returning to the paperwork on her desk.

"That is if you have a lover. I'm sorry I find it hard to imagine you with a lover." Teased Lisa lightly.

A flash of hurt crossed Nanao's face, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. The Fukutaicho of the Eighth division was a very private woman who only trusted a few people with her feelings, Shunsui being one of them. There had been a few moments when Rose had graciously left the room to allow Shunsui the space to ask his second in command what was bothering her. This never annoyed her as she respected Nanao enough to know that there were some things she simply could not tell people. Lisa's teasing was obviously bothering or embarrassing the woman and so Rose felt the need to do something. She looked up at Shunsui and poked him lightly in the side.

"What is it darling?" He asked.

Rose was just about to answer when a hell butterfly flew in through the window and started to hover above Lisa's head. The woman extended out her finger and allowed the butterfly to flutter down onto her finger.

"I have to go." Lisa said while getting to her feet.

"Where?" asked a suspicious Shunsui with a smile on his face.

"Kensei has offered to help train me. Since most of the Visoreds have returned to the Soul Society there is a lack of good training partners. I mean Hiyori is ok but her temper is rather off putting." Explained Lisa while heading for the door.

"Don't stay out too late." said Shunsui.

"Yes mummy." Teased Lisa lightly causing Shunsui to laugh. "Bye Nanao-Chan…Rose." She slid the door shut behind her with a small 'clack' before walking away down the corridor.

The office was silent for a moment before Shunsui exhaled. "Well darling Rose I think it is time for the two of us head on home. Nanao-Chan don't stay up too late doing the paperwork, and trust me I will know if you do. Go home and have a nice relaxing weekend before returning to work on Monday morning nice and fresh." He extending his hand out and helped his lover to her feet, not that she was not capable of doing it herself.

Rose looked at Nanao for a bit with concern and wondered if she should ask her if she was ok. Lisa had said some nasty things to her. But somehow Rose just knew that further inquiry would only embarrass Nanao more than the actual words had. Maybe she should just have her lover do some inquiring.

Shunsui led the way out of the office and down the corridor with his hand wrapped around Rose's hand. The sun had just set and so the streets were dark except for a few fires in small metal braziers lit the street before them. The two of them walked in pleasant silence until a large and cold gust of wind blow against them making Rose shiver.

"Your cold." Stated Shunsui. He removed his pink kimono and wrapped her up in it before pressing her to his side.

Rose could not help but sigh as his warmth encompassed her. His kimono was not only warm but it also smelt like him. His scent was a mixture of grass, sakura blossoms, spice and sandal wood and was in her opinion the most intoxicating and delicious smell ever. Just his scent was enough to calm her.

"It suddenly got very cold." Said Rose as she snuggled into his warmth.

"Well it is November, darling. Maybe we should get you a winter haori to protect you from the harsh winter." Said Shunsui.

"Yeah, maybe I should get myself one."

"You don't have to buy one as the division gives you one for free. Although I would be happy to purchase you a nice woollen one with a luxurious sheepskin lining."

"Wouldn't it be a bit of a giveaway that I am living in the eighth division if I turn up at the academy with a division issued winter haori?" Questioned Rose.

"Academy students and the Gotei 13 members get the same winter haori so you should be fine. But like I said I would be more than happy to get you a nice sheep skin one."

"We have had this conversation before, I do not like it when you spend money on me unnecessarily."

"But I can't let you freeze during the winter. Let me buy you a nice winter haori."

"Well then I will just have to do with the academy issued one."

"Or you can just let me get it for you." Stated Shunsui.

Rose turned and shot him a 'we have talked about this' face. "You know I can't accept things from you." She said.

"But this is one simple haori. Rose, nobody is going to judge you if you allow me to buy you one haori."

"Yes but one haori will lead to another gift and then another and I don't want people to think that I am dating you because I want your money." Said Rose.

Shunsui wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in front of him. "Nobody thinks that you are a gold digger. Well, only the people that matter to you don't think of you as a gold digger. Come on Rose let me buy you this haori."

She looked up into his puppy dog eyes and smiled. "Fine, I'll let you buy me one haori."

"Great!"

Rose went on her tiptoes and kissed Shunsui on the lips quickly before taking his hand again and continuing on the walk back to his quarters.

"You are one difficult woman, but I like that about you." Stated Shunsui after a while.

"Just be happy that I am allowing you to buy me this haori…Gah!" gasped Rose.

"What?"

"I-I just remembered that I left my books in the office." Rose looked over her shoulder and down the dark street.

"Leave them." said Shunsui.

"But I need them to do my work." Replied Rose.

"Trust me you will not be doing much work this evening."

"Yes but I might want to do some work tomorrow or the day after." Said Rose.

Shunsui tucked her under his arm and started to lead her to his quarters. "Do you really want to head on back when we are practically home?" he asked.

Rose was silent for a moment. The wind was blowing against her making her shiver slightly. "I suppose I can go back and get them tomorrow." She said after a while.

"Excellent." Stated Shunsui. "Now how about the two of us share a nice, warm…_hot bath."_ He leaned down and whispered the word 'hot' into her ear before biting her earlobe teasingly. Rose groaned and shivered in anticipation. Shunsui smiled and continued to lead her back to his quarters.

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><p>"You know I am starting to feel rather lonely here. Hurry up and get in." called Shunsui while lying in the warm bathtub. He had purposely used the lavender bath oil to make the bathroom smell intoxicatingly good. He had also brought with him a small bottle of sake and dish to which he took occasional sips from. The scene was set but the leading lady was missing.<p>

"I'm coming." Replied Rose, who was currently sitting at the dressing table, slowly removing her make up. She never worn that much to begin with which pleased Shunsui. All she would wear was eye liner, mascara and lip gloss and that was it. When she was done, she stood up, removed her clothes and walked into the bathroom. Shunsui stared at her naked body, feeling himself getting harder and harder. Rose's body was everything he could ever dream of. It was so smooth, silky and pale which only added more emphasis to her intense blue eyes and brown hair. The only marks on her skin were from the two tattoos she had, one of her thigh and the other on her back. Shunsui knew why she had tattoos, which was to hide the scares that Kurosawa had given her in the past.

"Somebody looks eager to start." Whispered Rose when she was just a hairs breath away from Shunsui. She was, of course, talking about his ragging erection which stood to attention in the water.

"You were the one that kept me waiting, besides seeing you naked is enough to make me wanting. Now stop hanging around and get in before I go crazy." Replied Shunsui with a smile on his face. He extended his hand out and helped Rose into the bathtub. She gracefully lowered herself down into the water, sighing as the warm water came in contact with her pale skin. It was a wonderful temperature.

"Shall I massage your back'" asked Shunsui in a seductive tone.

"No…this time round let me take care of you." Replied Rose. She smiled up at him, which only grew when she saw him open his arms wide and grin.

"My body is yours to do what you desire."

Her lips latched onto his neck where she delicately kissed and licked him while her hand leisurely pumped his erection. She could feel his body undulate ever so slightly under hers while he let out the most adorable little groans of pleasure that only added fire to her desire. Very rarely did she ever take control of their sexual encounters, mainly leaving it up to him, who was far more knowledgeable and skilled in the art, but when she did take control she felt a sort of…dominance that she had never experienced before. It was intoxicating seeing a Shunsui, a man of immense power, be reduced to a panting, groaning mess all because of her.

Shunsui felt like his head was going to explode with desire and need. Rose kept him on the edge, that place between pleasure and mindless, insane, bone numbing completion with her delicate kissed and slow pumping…and it felt so hot. And when she finally lowered herself onto his erection he could not help the loud moan of pleasure that escaped his mouth. At first Rose rode him at a slow pace, but as the desire and want grew she started to increase her pace. Shunsui could not help it, her delicious pink nipple was right in front of him. His lover groaned loudly as he enclosed his mouth around her breast and started to give it the attention it so rightfully deserved. Higher and higher the two of them rose until it was almost unbearable. Their kisses turned more to biting as they tried to control the intense pleasure. And then Rose cried out loudly as her inner walls started to contract repeatedly around the member in between her legs. Shunsui groaned as silky hot walls started to stroke his erection, trying to force him to come. The pleasure was too much and with a loud moan he came, shooting his seed into his lover.

Slowly, the two of them came down from their high, panting and clutching each other close to their body. It was Rose the first one to stir.

"I love you Shunsui." she said.

"I love you to Rose…and I will never stop." He replied.


End file.
